all seven astronauts onboard. This was initially blamed on the design of the booster rockets and allowing the launch to proceed in cold weather. However it was later revealed that "there was a decision along the way to economize on the sensors and on their computer interpretation by removing the sensors on the booster rockets. There is speculation that those sensors might have permitted earlier detection of the booster-rocket failure, and possible early separation of the shuttle in an effort to save the astronauts. Other shortcuts were also taken so that the team could adhere to an accelerated launch sequence." (Neumann). This was not the first time there had been problems with space shuttle missions. A presidential commission was set up and the Chicago Tribune reported what some astronauts said, "…that poor organization of shuttle operations led to such chronic problems as crucial mission software arrived just before shuttle launches and the constant cannibalization of orbiters for spare parts." Obviously the pressures of getting a space shuttle launch and mission to run smoothly and on time is huge. However there has to be a limit on how many short cuts can be taken. Another example of commercial pressure is the case of a Fortune 500 company. (A Fortune 500 company is one that appears in a listing of the top 500 U.S. companies ranked by revenues, according to Fortune magazine's classic list.) According to Jones, "the client executive and the senior software manager disliked each other so intensely that they could not never reach agreement on the features, schedules, and effort for the project (a sales support system of about 3000 function points)". They both appealed to their higher executives to dismiss the other person. The project was eventually abandoned, after acquiring expenses of up to $500 000. Jones reported another similar case in a different Fortune 500 company. "…two second-line managers on an expert system (a ...
