Today NASA is holding a press conference on moon landings: https://twitter.com/marinakoren/status/1255918324912971778
See also: https://twitter.com/lorengrush/status/1255920647793979393
I’m not in the mood to tank abuse today (nor am I covering the press conference).

His response to the pandemic speaks to his risk assessment techniques and critical thinking capabilities, which are directly relevant to the safety of future astronauts.
You don’t get to pick and choose whose safety you care about, nor which risks matter.

You either build a culture of safety, or you paint on a veneer where appearances matter more than actions. It’s a choice.

Do you prioritize averting catastrophe or protecting image?
The pandemic is pretty fucking blatant, as are its risk reduction measures.

It doesn’t take high-level analytics to understand disease spreads through contact, therefore limit contact until the disease is under control. The core concept is kindergarten-level learning goals.
Rocket science is legendary hard and we’ve had heart-rending tragedy in our quest to explore space including Apollo 1, Soyuz 1, Gemini 9, Soyuz 11, Challenger, & Columbia.

Being flippant about safety in ANY context is newsworthy. Thank you for asking, @marinakoren.
Related:
Starting after the Apollo 1 fires, Charles Schulz let Snoopy become NASA’s safety mascot: https://gizmodo.com/snoopy-the-astrobeagle-nasas-mascot-for-safety-1570066950

Astronauts give Snoopy pins to crew that keeps them safe. It’s an enormous honour: https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/sfa/aac/silver-snoopy-award/

Contractors blowing off safety is a big deal.
Ah. Yes. Of course California’s public health efforts to contain a global pandemic are secondary to building electric vehicles.

And of course this disregard for safety isn’t relevant to space reporters covering the upcoming crewed launch of the Dragon. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1259159878427267072
Current events are EXACTLY why I spend so much effort teaching my students to exercise their own judgement in the workplace.

Bosses give all kinds of illegal and immoral orders. You can’t trust them to make calls on your behalf.
Update:
How confident do you feel SpaceX employees can have safety concerns taken seriously this close to launch?

NASA’s human spaceflight lead resigned yesterday. Readiness review will be under an interim leader.

I’m increasingly nervous about the first crewed Dragon 2 launch.
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