The late 1960's were a milestone in the space age. On July 16, 1969, NASA accomplished its mission of putting men on the moon with Apollo XI and succeeded in bringing the astronauts safely back to earth. Two years earlier, Walter Weissman was the coordinator of the internal communication program at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama. Weissman invited Phillip K. Tompkins, an associate professor of communication at Wayne State University, to review the organization's communication practices and make recommendations. Tompkins would later use his study to review the Challenger space shuttle accident in his book, "Organizational Communication Imperatives: Lessons of the Space Program." Tompkins links the Apollo and Challenger missions to show how the communication practices had changed. The deterioration in communication, caused by the leaders of NASA and at Marshall Center, contributed to the explosion of the Challenger shuttle and later, the Columbia. By first looking at the leaders of the Apollo program during Tompkins study, a comparison can be made of the Challenger and the Columbia mission leaders and their styles of communication. .
During the time of the Apollo missions, Weissman had in place a well-organized internal communication network for his 7,000 employees. The Center's bulletin boards were utilized along with focused newsletters. Weissman lectured on communication and supervision to every level of the organization. His five-year plan included inviting Tompkins to consult with the Center about its organizational communication. .
Wernher von Braun was the director at Marshall Space Flight Center in 1967. Von Braun's stressed the importance of communication by keeping everyone informed through all levels of the Center. Von Braun made the point of how vital it was to get the attention of top managers for any person having problems or suggestions.