Flawed NASA Culture Blamed for Columbia Disaster

[Orangedog]

Foam or no foam, maybe they should have considered retiring a space craft that was over 20 years old. NASA should have been actively developing a replacement for the shuttle after Challenger.

Oh well, maybe when the Chinese start their manned space program in a couple of years we'll get some real leadership at NASA. China has been itching to take the lead away from us some area. Space travel will probably be there area of choice.

[j_tull]

I'm looking for a link to the actual report to see if the "environmentally friendly" reformulation of the insulating foam is mentioned.

[Prof Engineer]

ping

[Sir Gawain]

"There are a lot of things that are worth risking your life for,"

Wasting taxpayers' money must be one of them.

[Monty22]

The liberal golden calf will almost certainly not be blamed. And if so, hidden away in passing.

[Wolfie]

"Waiter, there's a flaw in my culture!"

[windchime]

On NASA TV:

Aug. 26, Tuesday
11 a.m. - Columbia Accident Investigation Board Press Conference
2 p.m. - NASA Update with Administrator Sean O'Keefe - HQ

[DoughtyOne]

Sean O'Keefe (search), who heads the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, warned space workers earlier this summer that they should prepare
themselves for a report that will be "really ugly" as it outlines flawed engineering decisions that led to the destruction of Columbia as it returned to Earth following a
16-day mission.

There are times when I just want to rip a reporter's lungs out.  This report should be a major embarassment to NASA employees, but the management structure and "some" engineers, their lack of professional attention to the matter of the foam strikes on the shuttle are the problem here, not the rank and file NASA employees.

We have a serious issue here.  Instead of talking about it in adult terms, we see this nitwit reference "space workers", a term clearly used to place the whole of NASA into an admired untouchable group, almost angelic and clearly incapable of being judged too harshly should the report actually warrant it.

These are NASA employees.  That's the way we have referenced them for thirty years, or at least since the name change, whenever that took place.  That's the way they should be referenced here.  No need to coin a new manipulative term.

Already this morning I've seen reference to the families of the lost crew, saying above all else they support the continued presence of men in space.  Well shezam, there's a news flash.  This isn't about that.  This is about making sure people are held accountable for their negligence and the example is set so that this level of complacence never again costs the lives of seven "space workers".

The manipulators will be out in full force today.

[DoughtyOne]

11:00 am - Facts (we hope)
02:00 pm - Spin (we know)

[hopespringseternal]

NASA should have been actively developing a replacement for the shuttle after Challenger.

The problem with NASA is so large it is hard to explain it.

They don't design spacecraft, they design artillery and man-rate it. Over the last thirty years, every failed effort from NASA has followed that paradigm.

Their greatest failure has been the inability to be the catalyst for a thriving space industry. Instead they have been a wet blanket.

The Challenger and Columbia accidents are but two symptoms of a bureaucracy in its dotage.

[windchime]

Fox carrying the 11:00 am - Facts (we hope) now.

[snopercod]

Do you retire an airliner after 25 flights?

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Watch it live

http://www.caib.us/events/press_briefings/20030826/default.html

[norraad]

B I N G O !

You win again!

All roads lead back to r12, which the original foam & it's adhesive was based on(a known perfect product was replaced by a known inferior product to support the Freon scam, end of story...., or maybe a beginning?)

[Deathmonger]

You do if each flight costs $1B and you can only get a couple flights a year.

[justlurking]

The report:

http://www.caib.us/news/report/default.html

[Aracelis]

Ping

[Texan5]

Nasa is a culture? Are they a member of Nato? I thought they were the space program....

[RightWhale]

There has been a subtle change at NASA

subtle?

SUBTLE?

SUBTLE?