This report is written for NASA and provides a detailed analysis of the Apollo 13 accident based on Organizational Behaviour models (6). The main source of information discussed in this paper is the Apollo 13 movie (5). This report identifies key problems and root causes that led to the accident, and provides decision criteria along with alternative solutions designed to address the root causes and prevent such accidents from happening in the future.
The Apollo 13 malfunction was caused by an explosion and rupture of oxygen tank number 2. All oxygen stores were lost within about three hours, along with loss of water, electrical power, and use of the propulsion system. The crew's safety has been compromised when NASA did not address the problem seen in oxygen tank number 2 prior to launch. There was an unnecessary launch time pressure put on the astronauts, which forced Jim to break a performing team and accept a new crew member. This put the crew back at the storming/norming team development stage, which compromised team performance in space. In addition, NASA has an illusion of invulnerability and therefore lacks contingency plans for possible accidents, and the astronauts are not trained to function in emergency situations.
It is recommended that within the next 1-3 months NASA's engineering team should start fixing the defective coil that caused the accident. This task should be complete and fully tested prior to the next launch to ensure that the same accident does not happen again. At the same time, NASA's management team should introduce a policy that would prevent a newly formed astronaut team from going into space. This policy should clearly define the process that the new team has to go through in order to be qualified to go into space. In addition, it is recommended that NASA should develop a decision-making management structure within the next year or two. This structure must ensure that the right people have the authority and the responsibility to make the right decisions.