scope:

In May 2011, the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Flight Backshell was inadvertently lifted while attached to the Backshell Cart. The incident occurred at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF). The weight of the Backshell Cart imparted loads into the Backshell structure through the flight hardware ground support interfaces. The event was caused by a crane operator error in which the operator drove the crane in the up direction instead of the commanded down direction. The MSL project identified a set of actions to address the vulnerability experienced in this operation. Immediate corrective actions have been implemented, and longer-term corrective actions are in progress.