Exhibit 1200 ยท Commission report appendix
Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident, vol. 2, Appendix F: Personal Observations on Reliability of Shuttle
For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.
Feynman reports that engineers estimated the chance of a loss of vehicle at about 1 in 100 while management estimates ran to 1 in 100,000. He concludes that management exaggerated reliability "to the point of fantasy" and that technology must put reality ahead of public relations.
- Source
- Richard P. Feynman, in the Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident
- Date
- 1986
- Quoted from
- Appendix F, closing paragraph of Conclusions, p. F5
- Grade
- Primary record
- Document
- https://history.nasa.gov/rogersrep/v2appf.htm
- Accessed
- 2026-11-10
- Cited by
- Findings citing this exhibit
- Note
- Disparity sentence at p. F1: "the management of NASA exaggerates the reliability of its product, to the point of fantasy."