Columbia Crew Remembrance Service

NASA TV to Air Columbia Crew Remembrance Service

"NASA Television will provide live coverage of the Astronauts Memorial Foundation's remembrance service honoring space shuttle Columbia's STS-107 crew. The ceremony will be held at the Space Mirror Memorial on the NASA Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex at 10 a.m. EST on Feb. 1, the fifth anniversary of the Columbia accident."

An Enduring Memorial

Planetarium to Honor Life of Fallen Arlington Son - Captain David M. Brown

"The Arlington School Board unanimously approved a recommendation to name the Planetarium in honor of Captain David M. Brown. Captain Brown, a Yorktown High School graduate, died while serving as a mission specialist on the NASA Space Shuttle Columbia mission on February 1, 2003. In November 2007, Arlington Public Schools received a letter from Arlington resident George Wysor, a childhood friend and classmate of Brown's and an APS alumnus, requesting that the APS planetarium be renamed in memory of Captain Brown."

Behind The Scenes Post-Columbia

A Strong Push From Backstage, Washington Post

"When the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas on Feb. 1, 2003, for example, Bush was consumed with concern for the families of the seven dead astronauts. That left Cheney to make the first critical decisions about the future of manned spaceflight. Even as the vice president and others were grappling with the invasion of Iraq, Cheney crafted a solution to the most pressing problem facing the space program, said former NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe, a Cheney protege."

Columbia Settlement Details Revealed

NASA paid $26.6M to Columbia families, Orlando Sentinel

"NASA paid $26.6 million to the families of seven astronauts who died aboard space shuttle Columbia -- a settlement that has been kept secret for more than 21/2 years. The space agency recruited former FBI Director William Webster, also a former federal judge, to act as a mediator and adviser in negotiating the out-of-court settlements, according to documents released to the Orlando Sentinel through a federal Freedom of Information Act request."

Spacehab Drops STS-107 Lawsuit

Spacehab Dismisses RDM Claim With NASA

"SPACEHAB, Incorporated, a leading provider of commercial space services, today announced that the Company has filed for a formal dismissal with prejudice of all litigation against NASA relating to losses incurred by SPACEHAB as a result of the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia accident. In January 2004 the Company initiated a formal proceeding against NASA in which the Company was seeking damages in the amount of $87.7 million for the loss of its Research Double Module (RDM) as a result of the Columbia accident."

Remembrance

Like father, like son, ynetnews.com

"Assaf Ramon, son of Israel's first astronaut Ilan Ramon, has applied to the Israel Air Force pilot training course, says he wants to follow in illustrious father's footsteps to outer space."

Lunar Crater Names for the Columbia Astronauts Provisionally Approved, U.S. Geological Survey

"Names for seven craters in the Apollo basin on the Moon have been provisionally approved by the IAU to honor the seven Space Shuttle Columbia astronauts."

Earlier posts

7 hills in Negev, Mitzpe Ramon, named after fallen Columbia astronauts, Israel Insider

Apollo, Challenger, Columbia: Thinking Back - Looking Ahead

"Our mission in space is not over," Rona Ramon told the hushed audience. "He was the first Israeli in space - that means there will be more."

Columbia Memorial Unveiled in Spokane

Statue honors fallen hero (photo), Spokesman Review

"Spokane astronaut Michael P. Anderson has been eulogized as a humble, deeply religious and inspirational man who lived out his dream. For the past year, local artist Dorothy Fowler has used those descriptions to help her create an 8-foot-high, 600-pound bronze statue of Anderson."

Revisiting Moments Aboard Columbia

Israeli forensic expert solves mystery of Ilan Ramon's diary, Israel21C

"Little did [Sharon] Brown, a superintendent in the Israel Police Division of Identification and Forensic Science, realize that a year later, she would play an integral role in reconstructing the last days of Ramon's life aboard the shuttle."

Spacehab and Lloyds Join to Push NASA on STS-107 Claim

Spacehab Announces Dismissal of Lloyds of London Complaint

"Spacehab today announced that Certain Underwriters at Lloyds of London have agreed to drop their complaint against the Company and join with Spacehab in pursuit of its claims with NASA for reimbursement of loss for its Research Double Module in the STS-107 Space Shuttle Columbia accident."

- Spacehab Appeals Decision for Losses on Space Shuttle Mission
- Spacehab Files Tort Claim For Losses on Space Shuttle Mission
- Spacehab Receives Response from NASA Regarding Claim for Losses on Space Shuttle Mission
- Spacehab Files Claim for Research Double Module Lost on STS-107 Space Shuttle Mission

NASA OIG's Take on CAIB

Summary of the Office of Inspector General's Reviews on Aspects of NASA's Response to the Columbia Accident Investigation Board Report

"During our reviews, performed from September 2003 through May 2005, we identified no significant issues or problems that would indicate an unnacceptable risk for returning the space shuttle to flight that the SSP is not already engaged in solving."

Comments from the Columbia Families

Echoes of Columbia, Orlando Sentinel

"Laurel Clark's husband, Jon, still works for NASA as a neurologist but says he plans to retire to write a revelatory book about the Columbia catastrophe, and the need for a far more dramatic shift in the way NASA operates."

OnStar Ad Features Space Shuttle Columbia

Reader Comment: "I am a NASA KSC employee and there is a new commercial for OnStar that just started airing that features the Space Shuttle.  The shuttle featured in the commercial is Columbia and I do not have to tell you how much in poor taste this is.  I realize that not everyone will recognize that it is Columbia, but for those of us who do (especially the families of the astronauts) it is offensive.  I have e-mailed Onstar and I just wanted to pass this on to you in case you wanted to share it."

Columbia Memorial Service in Washington

Columbia Memorial Service

Date/Time: Tuesday, Feb. 1, 10:30 - 11 a.m.

Location: St. Dominic Catholic Church, 630 E Street, S.W.

All members of the NASA Family are invited to attend a non-denominational memorial service for the crew of STS-107 on Feb. 1, the second anniversary of the Columbia accident. The service will take place Tuesday from 10:30 to 11 a.m. at St. Dominic Catholic Church, 630 E Street, S.W., Washington.

NASA Day of Remembrance

NASA Day of Remembrance Scheduled Jan. 27

"A Day of Remembrance observance honoring those members of the NASA Family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery will take place Jan. 27 at 2 p.m. from NASA Headquarters in Washington."

Editor's note: Looking back at the news coverage of this event, I find it somewhat annoying that nearly all of the news accounts focus only on astronauts who died in their spacecraft - not on the many others who were remembered: the JPL employees who died on their way to work, the helicopter crew who died during the Columbia debris recovery effort, and astronauts who died during training or other accidents. Yet their mention by NASA on Thursday made few if any news reports.

For example, Florida Today made no mention of these others who died. I find it hard to understand why these others were not mentioned given that their faces and names were featured to the same extent as were those of the Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia crews during an event televised from NASA Headquarters. Indeed, if you read the memo sent out across NASA, the word 'astronaut' does not even appear. Instead "NASA employees" is used:

"Sent: Fri 1/21/2005 2:43 PM

Subject: Day of Remembrance

The Administrator has designated Thursday, January 27, 2005 as "NASA's National Day of Remembrance."

On this day we honor the memory of all NASA employees who have lost their lives in the pursuit of NASA's mission.

Therefore, on Thursday, January 27th flags at all NASA facilities are to be flown at half-staff.

 In keeping with NASA's Core Values:

• Safety
• The NASA Family
• Excellence
• Integrity

Also in keeping with honoring those lost and recommitting to pursuing our exploration agenda with renewed diligence."

A Distant Memorial

NASA Haughton-Mars Project Space Shuttle Columbia Inukshuk Memorials

"To honor the memory of the seven astronauts of Space Shuttle Columbia's last flight the NASA Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) has established seven astronaut memorial sites on Devon Island, in the Canadian High Arctic, during the summer field seasons of 2003 and 2004."

Keith Cowing's Devon Island Journal 20 July 2003: Arctic Memorials and Starship Yearnings

"Our task was a somewhat solemn one. We were here to erect a memorial to Columbia astronaut Michael Anderson. The memorials take the form of an inukshuk, a stone sculpture in rough human form used by the Inuit to mark territory. These stone structures serve as reference points for those who traverse this desolate place."

Looking Back

Challenger - A Flight Surgeon Remembers, Dr. Sanity

"On January 28, 1986, I was at Cape Canaveral in Florida. As a NASA Flight Surgeon, I had been assigned as the Crew Surgeon for Mission 51-L (noone really wanted the job since many disapproved of having a civilian--the teacher in space--fly on a space mission)."

Lessons Forgotten?

Deadly space lessons go unheeded, MSNBC

"NASA prefers to literally bury the wreckage in underground concrete crypts, to shove the investigation reports onto another bookshelf, and to allocate one day per year to honoring the dead while ignoring what killed them the other 364 days."

A New Columbia Memorial

On 30 October 2004 President Bush signed into law H.J.RES.57 "Expressing the sense of the Congress in recognition of the contributions of the seven Columbia astronauts by supporting establishment of a Columbia Memorial Space Science Learning Center"

Columbia Debris Found

16 September 2004: Large piece of shuttle found in Newton County , Luftin Daily News

"A large piece of space shuttle Columbia debris found recently is a part of the crew compartment, possibly including the escape hatch, a NASA official said Wednesday. The six-foot-long piece containing a hinged window was found in Newton County by Jason Sebesta, a wildlife biologist with Temple-Inland Inc."

Earlier 2004 Entries

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June 2004: Beyond the Widget: Columbia Accident Lessons Affirmed, Brig Gen Duane W. Deal, USAF, Air & Space Power

"The lessons gleaned from these and other prominent accidents and disasters, management and leadership primers, and raw experience are the same lessons that should have prevented the Columbia accident. The saddest part is that some in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had simply not absorbed, or had forgotten, these lessons; the result was the deaths of seven astronauts and two helicopter search team members, as well as the intense scrutiny of a formerly exalted agency."

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11 May 2004: NASA to Name Supercomputer after Columbia Astronaut Kalpana Chawla

"NASA will dedicate a new supercomputer this week to honor the memory of astronaut Kalpana "KC" Chawla, one of the seven crew members aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, lost Feb. 1, 2003. The dedication ceremony will be held May 12 at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif."

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25 April 2004: Correction/Amplification Regarding Dover Casket Photos, The Memory Hole

"Among the 361 Dover casket photos are a minority of images showing coffins of the Columbia astronauts. I didn't realize this at the time that I posted them, mainly because when the Air Force asked for clarification during the process, I specifically told them that I wasn't requesting photos of the Columbia astronauts, only military personnel killed overseas."

"(Not that I have anything against astronauts. One of the tricks for writing successful Freedom of Information Act requests is to make your request as narrow as possible. I was afraid that including the astronauts in the request would give the Air Force another excuse not to release the photos. As in: "Well, since you want the astronaut photos, we're going to have to clear that with more federal agencies.....") I've since been told by a reporter that NASA released the astronaut casket photos at the time and has never objected to their use. Quite a marked difference from the battlefield dead, who are swept under the rug by the Pentagon."

23 April 2004: NASA: Columbia Crew Mistakenly Identified as Iraqi War Dead, NASA HQ

23 April 2004: DOD Misidentifies Photos of Columbia Crew Remains Ariving at Dover AFB as Being Iraq War Dead, SpaceRef

"If you look at the originating website for the controversial photos of war dead being returned from Iraq (loads very slow), you will see that most of the first page of photos are of Space Shuttle Columbia crew remains arriving at Dover Air Force Base on 5 February 2003. You see, that is Deputy NASA Administrator Fred Gregory in the light brown slacks and dark jacket standing to the left of the honor guard."

23 April 2004: Columbia Crew Coffins Mistaken for Caskets of U.S. Military Casualties, Space.com

"It is a story that will have journalism professors, conspiracy theorists and free speech advocates confused, amused and most likely up-in-arms until the next media scandal appears."

23 April 2004: Space-shuttle victims misidentified as Iraq dead in some photos, Delawareonline.com

24 April 2004: Columbia crew remains mistaken for war dead, Florida Today

"Keith Cowing, who runs NASA Watch, a private Web site that follows developments at the space agency, said he detected the mistake and called it to NASA's attention. NASA officials said CNN was one of "many" news outlets that misidentified photos of caskets containing remains of the Columbia astronauts."

23 April 2004: Photos included images of shuttle astronauts' coffins, Orlando Sentinel

"Among the Columbia crewmembers, only mission specialist Kalpana Chawla had not served in the military. Commander Rick Husband and payload commander Michael Anderson were in the Air Force; pilot Willie McCool and mission specialists David Brown and Laurel Clark were in the Navy; and Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon was in his country's air force. But the astronauts were brought to Dover because of their association with NASA, as were the seven members of the Challenger crew, in 1986."

24 April 2004: Bush Criticizes the Release of Photos of Soldier Coffins, NY Times

"In their eagerness to take advantage of the first photographs of American war dead from Iraq returning to Dover, several news organizations broadcast or published images of coffins that actually contained the remains of astronauts killed in the breakup of the Columbia space shuttle, NASA said Friday. Among the news organizations that used the incorrect photographs were CNN, The Associated Press, Reuters and The Washington Post. "This was an obvious case of mistaken identity," said Bob Jacobs, a NASA spokesman."

23 April 2004: Washington Post prints Columbia photo in Iraq War dead coffin story

Editor's note: The Washington Post has printed a photo on page A10 of Deputy Administrator Fred Gregory on the tarmac at Dover AFB with the caption "About 350 photos of coffins at Dover Air Force Base were released under the Freedom of Information Act". No one in the photo is identified - nor is the date of the photo or the event noted. Update: the Post printed a correction on 24 April.

Editor's note: Reuters also distributed a photo (correction posted) of the Columbia crew remains without identifying it as such - instead captioning it as "Coffins of U.S. military personnel are offloaded by Air Force honor guards at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware in this undated photo." Reuters has since posted an article at 7:00 pm EDT which focuses on the error.

Editor's note: AP has a screen grab of the first page of photos - all of which are of Columbia crew remains. AP titles the image as "A page from the Memory Hole.org's homepage shows photographs of American war dead arriving at Dover Air Force, the nation's largest military mortuary, Thursday, April 22, 2004." Curiously AP has an article up which they posted at 4:50 pm EDT today and then revised at 8:30 pm which now mentions their own error.

Editor's note: As of 5:00 pm EDT yesterday CNN Headline news was flashing several pictures of NASA Deputy Administrator Fred Gregory standing on the tarmac receiving the bodies of the Columbia crew at Dover Air Force Base in February 2003 and claiming that the photos are of caskets containing war dead arriving home from Iraq in 2004. NASA and CNN are aware of this and I expect that the photos in question won't be running again. Apparently the original FOIA request was filed for all images of coffins at Dover between February 2003 and the present and apparently these Columbia images were included.

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15 March 2004: Families of Columbia astronauts arrive in Israel for emotional visit, Israel Insider

"The families of the six American NASA astronauts who died in the Columbia space shuttle tragedy last year arrived in Israel yesterday, and were greeted at the airport by Rona Ramon, widow of Israeli crew member, Ilan Ramon."

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2 February 2004: Remarks by Sean O'Keefe, STS-107 Crew Memorial Ceremony, Arlington National Cemetery

"Generations from now, when the reach of human civilization is extended throughout the solar system, people will still come to this place to learn about and pay their respects to our heroic Columbia astronauts. They will look at the astronauts' memorial and then they will turn their gaze to the skies, their hearts filled with gratitude for these seven brave explorers who helped blaze our trail to the stars."

20 July 2003: Keith Cowing's Devon Island Journal: Arctic Memorials and Starship Yearnings

"Our task was a somewhat solemn one. We were here to erect a memorial to Columbia astronaut Michael Anderson. The memorials take the form of an inukshuk, a stone sculpture in rough human form used by the Inuit to mark territory. Given the sheer mass of the structure, and the slow manner with which things change here, this inukshuk may well be standing 500 years from now. That should be long enough. Maybe someone serving on a starship will think to visit it."

2 February 2004: Lampson Leads Floor Tribute to Columbia Crew

"The crew of STS-107 would not want us to dwell only on their deaths. Instead, I believe that they would want us to reflect on the cause for which they gave their lives: the exploration of space. And I have no doubt that they would want us to rededicate ourselves to the task of ensuring that this nation continues that exploration."

2 February 2004: H. RES. 507 Expressing sorrow of the House of Representatives on the anniversary of the accident of the Space Shuttle Columbia

"Resolved, That the House of Representatives does offer its gratitude to the seven Space Shuttle Columbia astronauts and its heartfelt sympathy to their families on the anniversary of their loss, with the reassurance that this sacrifice will not have been made in vain, but will strengthen this Nation's resolve to continue their journey of discovery."

2 February 2004: STS-107 Columbia Memorial Dedicated at Arlington National Cemetery

2 February 2004: NASA Dedicates Mars Landmarks to Columbia Crew

2 February 2004: Columbia Memorial Dedicated at Arlington National Cemetery

28 January 2004: NASA Dedicates Columbia Memorial

28 January 2004: Space Shuttle Challenger Crew Memorialized on Mars

27 January 2004: Martian Landmarks Dedicated to Apollo 1 Crew

6 January 2004: NASA Memorializes Space Shuttle Columbia Crew on Mars

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1 February 2004: Columbia +365, SpaceRef

"One year ago today, Space Shuttle Columbia began to return home after a successful 16 day Mission.

It would never arrive.

Within minutes of entering the uppermost regions of Earth's atmosphere, Columbia began to disintegrate. As it sped through the edge of space pieces began to shower down across Texas and Louisiana. Thousands of eyes watched from backyards. Millions watched on TV as Columbia broke into pieces.

Just as Columbia ceased to exist, in the days and weeks following this tragedy, many soon began to fear that America's space program would suffer much the same fate."

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31 January 2004: NASA Sources Sought Notice: International Space Station Organizational Behavior Analysis

"The International Space Station Program Office is seeking information from private firms and research institutions that could support a comprehensive assessment and documentation of organizational behavior within the program office located at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas."

Editor's note: They should be looking at behavior other centers as well. Much to my surprise I actually got the following email from someone@larc.nasa.gov today:

"I would be curious to see how other NASA employees felt about the NASA spectacle before the Super Bowl. Personally, I thought it was way over the top for cheeziness. A group of us watching the game were about ready to throw up. Wonder how much tax money went into that PR extravaganza. How many times is NASA going to evoke the memory of dead astronauts? I have long stopped thinking they are doing it out of any respect for the families. Too many other good people die every day and these people hardly qualify for sainthood."

Editor's note: I just got this response: "Mr. Cowing, Saw you posted my view from my office at LaRC. I don't mind that but your implication that somehow I need my attitiude adjusted was rather insulting. NASA technical people do a lot of great things but the NASA PR machine is a beast that drives way too much of the Agency's thinking. I do appreciate the anonymity you maintain as LaRC managers would likely want my head for my comments (if they are not reading e-mail that goes to your site). Trying to still enjoy your site but I am finding a serious slant toward man in space to make me concerned about its objectivity. Nothing personal."

To which I replied: "If I were you I'd read Dr. Clark's comments - and then take the buyout. NASA would be far better off without you."

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31 January 2004: Strangers linked by Columbia tragedy, AP

"Virtually everyone inside and outside the space program acknowledges that the Columbia tragedy, along with the investigation board's condemnation of the lack of a national space vision, spurred President Bush into aiming for the moon. "I would really love that to happen," [Jon] Clark says. "But I can tell you that it can't happen without NASA fundamentally changing."

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29 January 2004: NASA won't bury memory of Columbia failure, Houston Chronicle

"NASA, which has buried its debris in the past, plans to keep the 84,000 pieces for future research and, more importantly, to serve as a grim reminder of the high cost of the space agency's mistakes."

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29 January 2004: At Memorial, NASA Chief Reflects on Fatal Errors, AP

"But Jon Clark, a NASA neurologist who lost his wife, Laurel Blair Salton Clark, aboard Columbia, is among those dissatisfied with the progress one year later. He says he sees and hears enough to know that resistance persists in NASA. "The people who don't . . . see themselves in the report and see ways they can improve things, they're the ones who need to go," Clark says. "In other words, they embrace change, but it's changing somebody else, not them."

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29 January 2004: Super Sunday To Be Bittersweet For NASA Astronauts, WRAL

"As part of the Super Bowl show, musician Josh Grobin will sing a song in tribute to the astronauts. Military planes also will fly over Reliant Stadium in the "Missing Man" formation."

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28 January 2004: Opportunity Site Dedication

Editor's note: Sean O'Keefe, speaking in a Senate hearing, said that the Opportunity landing site will be dedicated to the Challenger crew later today.

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29 January 2004: A year after shuttle tragedy, NASA aims higher, CNN

"By the end of the summer, Cowing said, the plan was in full motion. The seeds of the plan -- the ideas that led to it -- started germinating in the decade before the Columbia disaster. "It wasn't a shortage of ideas. You could walk through NASA with double-sided sticky tape and wait 30 seconds and you've got 15 new ideas, or notions of where we should go," Cowing said."

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28 January 2004: "Adjusting Our Thinking" - Letter from Wayne Hale to the Space Shuttle Team

"Last year we dropped the torch through our complacency, our arrogance, self-assurance, shear stupidity, and through continuing attempt to please everyone. Seven of our friends and colleagues paid the ultimate price for our failure."

"As you consider continuing in this program, or any other high risk program, weigh the cost. You, too, could be convicted in the court of your conscience if you are ever party to cutting corners, believing something life and death is not your responsibility, or simply not paying attention. The penalty is heavy, you can never completely repay it."

28 January 2004: Shuttle manager reflects on mistakes, Jim Oberg, MSNBC

"Marking the first anniversary of the loss of the shuttle Columbia and its seven astronauts, a newly promoted NASA shuttle official has called on all space workers to adjust their thinking in preparation for resuming shuttle missions and going beyond them to meet the new goals recently set by the White House. And in a break with past NASA practices, he explicitly listed the mistakes he personally made that contributed to last year's disaster."

28 January 2004: A year after Columbia, weaknesses remain at NASA, Op Ed, Alcestis "Cooky" Oberg , USA Today

"Today, the people whose responsibility it was to prevent the Columbia disaster have shown little desire to change. Just the opposite has occurred: Prior to the release of the CAIB report this summer, one arrogant headquarters leader told NASA workers to ignore the "outside" criticism because it came from "timid souls." The engineers who had warned about NASA's safety culture prior to Columbia's demise still are locked out of the process of revitalizing the space agency."

22 January 2004: Note to USA employees regarding performance fee decision, USA

"In the letter notifying USA of the fee decision, NASA also chose to highlight our accomplishments, stating, it is important to NASA to give due regard to United Space Alliance's successes during the period, notwithstanding the loss of Columbia. NASA has agreed that suitable acknowledgement of the company's accomplishments is an important tool for communicating to the United Space Alliance workforce that NASA values their contributions to date, and trusts and anticipates that they will perform well in the future."

Editor's note: Wow. What a spin. I wonder how many USA PAO hacks had a hand in writing this. You'd think NASA just gave them a bonus!!! Indeed, this really strikes me as collective denial on the part of USA senior management.

22 January 2004: NASA docks contractor $45.2 million for Columbia, USA Today

"NASA penalized the contractor that maintains and operates the space shuttle fleet $45.2 million for its role in the shuttle Columbia accident, according to a letter NASA released Thursday."

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22 January 2004: NASA docks contractor $45.2 million for Columbia, USA Today

"But a letter from a NASA official said the contractor was "an integral member" of the "team that reached flawed conclusions about the relative safety of Columbia and crew before and during the flight." The letter from NASA deputy associate administrator Michael Kostelnik was sent Jan. 7 to United Space Alliance president Michael McCulley, a former astronaut."

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5 January 2004: NASA Langley staff gets bonuses for Columbia work - FOIA request prompts agency to release details of August awards, Daily Press

"The bonuses were given in August, but NASA did not release details until recently in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from the Daily Press. One employee received a top bonus of $10,000, but NASA officials would not name the employee. Langley's Freedom of Information Act officer said NASA's legal department would challenge whether employee bonuses are public information."

December 2003

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11 December 2003: Letter to NASA Administrator from NASA OIG Regarding Proposed Options for Implementation of CAIB Recommendations 7.5-1 and 7.5-2

"... While it may be that such organizations could be designed to fulfill the CAIB's intent that NASA have robust and independent engineering and safety offices in connection with space flight operations, we believe the decentralized approach being contemplated is inconsistent with the language of the CAIB report."

November 2003

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11 November 2003: Presentations and instructions given to NASA employees regarding NASA Safety and Mission Success Week

Editor's note: Contains links to download presentations and reference materials for NASA employees to use during NASA Safety and Mission Success Week.

9 November 2003: Memo from Randy Stone to NASA JSC Employees regarding NASA Safety and Mission Success (S&MS) Week

"The purpose of the week is to designate a period of time in which everyone (civil service and contractor employees) across the Agency can engage in a dialogue on the lessons to be learned from the CAIB Report. This is not meant to be a stand down week, instead discussions will be held as a part of regularly scheduled meetings (e.g. staff meetings)."

NASA Safety and Mission Success Week, OneNASA

October 2003

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28 October 2003: NASA's Hushed Debate, editorial, Washington Post

5 November 2003: An Open Debate at NASA, Letter to the Editor, Sean O'Keefe, Washington Post

"Instead of treating this as evidence of open communications, The Post treated the episode as though it were a "leaked" memo. But there was nothing "hushed" about the debate. The Post didn't need to conduct an investigation, it just needed to listen."

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28 October 2003: NASA chief takes media to task, The Times Picayune

"O'Keefe criticized journalists for greatly curtailing their coverage of the debris-recovery effort after attention turned to the work of the federal investigative board in the weeks after the tragedy."

Editor's note: The article goes on to say "The orbiter disintegrated Feb. 1 over eastern Texas, killing the seven astronauts aboard, as it returned to Earth after a two-week trip to the space station. An investigative board appointed by President Bush conducted a seven-month inquiry into the accident ..." This article is about press inaccuracies and biases - and yet the reporter himself has a crucial fact wrong! Columbia did NOT visit the space station! Moreover the investigative board (CAIB) was NOT appointed by the President. More sloppy reporting!

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25 October 2003: Columbia Accident Investigation Board To Release Vols. II-VI of Final Report, CAIB

28 October 2003: Panel: Different design might have enabled Columbia crew to survive, USA Today

"The crew of space shuttle Columbia might have survived if the cabin had been designed differently, according to documents released Tuesday by the independent panel that investigated the accident."

28 October 2003: Reports Detail a Hypothetical Shuttle Rescue, NY Times

"A pair of spacewalking astronauts could have climbed out of the Columbia's air hatch and inspected its damaged left wing if one of them had used the other as a ladder, according to documents released on Tuesday by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board."

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16 October 2003: Agency-wide CAIB Stand-down at NASA

Editor's note: From an internal NASA memo from a NASA field center:

"Administrator O'Keefe has instructed all Centers to address issues raised by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) report and to address cultural issues identified by an independent team headed by Al Diaz. Mr. Bridges is responding to O'Keefe's instructions by standing down the Center for the entire week of 17-21 November. Stand-down applies to contractors as well as civil servants. During that week all employees will be asked to study the CAIB report and the Diaz report. I suspect there will be other structured activities during that week as well."

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4 October 2003: Former NASA advisers on safety answer critics, Orlando Sentinel

4 October 2003: NASA Panel's Ex-Members Fault Shuttle Funding, Washington Post

"Rather than committing to an adequate budget for the space shuttle, NASA and its congressional allies found it easier to get rid of those raising the alarm," the former panel members said in a statement provided to The Washington Post."

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1 October 2003: "Getting It" at NASA, Keith Cowing

"This experience is why so many people who interact with NASA still have their suspicions. If people at NASA are not going to answer questions put to them by the public in response to a formal notice published in the public record - then they shouldn't put their email address and phone number in the notice in the first place. On the other hand, this incident also serves to demonstrate a marked and positive change in the way NASA PAO does things. Folks in PAO seem to "get it" to borrow Sean O'Keefe's phrase. Others still do not."

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1 October 2003: NASA Lessons Learned: Space Shuttle & International Space Station/Inadequate Budget Levels

"The current and proposed budgets are not sufficient to improve or even maintain the safety risk level of operating the Space Shuttle and ISS. Needed restorations and improvements cannot be accomplished under current budgets and spending priorities."

1 October 2003: NASA Lessons Learned: Space Shuttle Program/Logistics/Cannibalization

"As reported last year, long-term projections are still suggesting increasing cannibalization rates, increasing component repair turnaround times, and loss of repair capability for the Space Shuttle logistics programs. If the present trend is not arrested, support difficulties may arise in the next 3 or 4 years."

1 October 2003: NASA Lessons Learned: Space Shuttle/Ground Processing Infrastructure/Aging and Obsolescence

"The KSC facilities, ground support equipment, and test and checkout gear to support Space Shuttle processing and launch operations continue to age. The status of the potential readiness of these essential assets has been projected, but there is no detailed, funded plan to ensure that this aging infrastructure can safely support the Space Shuttle for its likely operational life."

1 October 2003: NASA Lessons Learned: Space Shuttle Automatic Landing Capabilities

"The space Shuttle system presently includes an autoland system that provides automated guidance capable of navigating the orbiter to the selected landing runway."

1 October 2003: NASA Lessons Learned: Workforce/Integration of New Personnel/Stress Levels

"NASA's recent hiring of inexperienced personnel, along with continuing shortages of experienced, highly-skilled workers, has produced the challenge of training and integrating employees into organizations that are highly pressured by the expanded Space Shuttle flight rates associated with the ISS. There is no systematic effort to capture the knowledge of experienced personnel before they leave. Stress levels within the workforce are a continuing concern."

1 October 2003: NASA Lessons Learned: Space Shuttle Program/Operations-Processing/Workforce

"The combined effect of workforce downsizing, the recent hiring freeze, and the Shuttle Processing contract (SPC) transition, especially at KSC, has raised the possibility that NASA senior managers in the future will lack the necessary hands-on technical knowledge and in-line experience to provide effective insight of operations."

1 October 2003: NASA Lessons Learned: Space Shuttle Program/Workforce/Workload Sustainment

"Space Shuttle processing workload is sufficiently high that it is unrealistic to depend on the current staff to support higher flight rates and simultaneously develop productivity improvements to compensate for reduced head counts. NASA and Shuttle Processing Contract (SPC) cannot depend solely on improved productivity to meet increasing launch demands."

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1 October 2003: Space Shuttle Independent Oversight Act of 2003 (Full Text)

1 October 2003: Rep. Hall Introduces Legislation on Oversight of Shuttle Safety

"Congressman Ralph M. Hall (D-TX) today introduced the "Space Shuttle Independent Oversight Act of 2003", legislation that authorizes the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering to establish an independent committee to oversee NASA's implementation of the recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Chairman of the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, and Congressman Bart Gordon (D-TN), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, joined Mr. Hall as original co-sponsors."

2 October 2003: Lawmaker proposes watchdogs for NASA, Orlando Sentinel

"NASA spokesman Robert Mirelson said agency officials haven't seen Hall's legislation and would not comment on it. But the agency welcomes additional oversight and the opportunity to work with Congress, he said."

September 2003

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24 September 2003: NASA safety panel revamp needed, says ex-member, Huntsville Times

"They cannot take whistleblower info because it is public record, which, in turn, doesn't allow for privacy," said Keith Cowing, a former NASA employee who runs a watchdog Web site called NASAWatch, www.nasawatch.com. "That can be corrected, and there may need to be some tweaking. Congress can have subcommittees given that power, and that would allow for whistleblower status."

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24 September 2003: NASA Oversight Panelists Resign, Washington Post

"NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe yesterday found himself with an unexpectedly blank slate as he sets out to revamp the agency's much-criticized safety apparatus, after all nine members of a key oversight panel resigned."

23 September 2003: Miscommunication seen as threat to space station, Houston Chronicle

"Art Zygielbaum, who along with the entire Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel resigned in frustration Monday, said NASA is doing little to correct safety flaws in the operation of the orbiting outpost, just as it ignored problems that led to the Feb. 1 loss of space shuttle Columbia."

23 September 2003: Rep. Ralph Hall Statement on ASAP Resignations

"The mass resignation of the members of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) sends a strong signal that, despite the useful and important service that they have provided over the years, their advice has rarely been heeded."

23 September 2003: NASA Administrator Accepts Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel Resignations, NASA

"NASA has already started the initial evaluation process to revise the panel's charge, based on congressional reaction to the findings of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. The agency also will review the original 1967 ASAP charter and its amendments."

26 March 2003: Safety Panel to NASA: Build a "Full Envelope" Shuttle Escape System, SpaceRef

"Gregory said "I see the words 'no commitment' - even though NASA and industry have done a lot of work in the past" Gregory took issue with the finding and recommendation saying that the wording left him with the impression that the ASAP was saying that there was a "suggestion that NASA has given up - therefore there is no answer - therefore we will dismiss the opportunity to not look further".

22 September 2003: All 9 members resign from NASA safety panel, NYT via Houston Chronicle

"As an example, the group said, the Columbia investigators noted that the advisory panel had complained in 1995 that NASA officials were treating the space shuttle as mature, and that the situation "smacks of a complacency which may lead to serious mishaps." The Columbia investigators found just such complacency leading up to the accident on Feb. 1 that destroyed the shuttle."

22 September 2003: Space safety advisers resign, Orlando Sentinel

"Board Chairman Harold Gehman Jr., a retired admiral, told Congress that NASA may need to reformulate the ASAP membership "to get at the issues that you're concerned about." And a Senate report recommended earlier this month that NASA remake the panel to include "recognized safety, management and engineering experts from industry and academia."

Editor's note: Ouch. Then again, out of chaos comes opportunity.

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19 September 2003: NASA adds extra shuttle mission, MSNBC

"NASA is settling on a plan for the space shuttle's "return to flight" next year, internal documents obtained by MSNBC.com show. These plans include moving the launch date for the flight, called STS-114, from the unrealistic "no earlier than March 11" into July 2004 or later."

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19 September 2003: Smacked by a space chicken, Popular Science

"Sidney Gutierrez: On an earlier flight a window was hit by a little piece of something, and they concluded afterwards it was a piece of chicken the Russians had ejected and was just floating around in space."

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19 September 2003:
Worries about layoffs at Michoud plant grow, Times Picayune

"Now that it's clear that space shuttles won't return to flight as soon as hoped, layoffs are a looming possibility for the Michoud plant in eastern New Orleans, a plant spokesman confirmed for the first time Friday."

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17 September 2003: Shuttle Manager Details Changes, Washington Post

"Any arrogance I may have had went out the window on Feb. 1," [Wayne Hale] said at a news briefing at the Johnson Space Center, home of mission control. "In my personal life, before February, I thought we had it pretty much knocked... I would have told you we understood what we were doing, and we had mature processes and good hardware. And I think all of those assumptions have been shattered."

"We have come, over the course of several months of introspection and analysis, to a new understanding" of what went wrong, Hale said, as he held up a copy of the investigators' report. "In particular, the first thing we have to get out on the table is we were not good enough. We did not do what is necessary to keep the Columbia crew safe."

17 September 2003: Shuttle mission management team gets major revamp, Spaceflight Now

"In perhaps the most convincing demonstration yet that NASA "gets it," the new chairman of the agency's mission management team today outlined major changes to improve communications among engineers and managers, to ensure dissenting views are heard and to correct the cultural shortcomings blamed in part for the Columbia disaster."

18 September 2003: Daylight-launch rule adds to NASA's challenges in return to flight, Orlando Sentinel

"If NASA isn't ready to launch a space shuttle by fall 2004, the return to flight may have to wait until March 2005, thanks to new rules that cut the launch opportunities in half."

16 September 2003: NASA Says It Can't Meet Investigation Board's Goals, NY Times

"NASA officials said today that they would be unable to comply fully with a critical recommendation from the board that investigated the loss of the Columbia and its crew, giving the space shuttle the ability to repair damage to its heat-protection system in orbit."

16 September 2003: Forget shuttle launch in March: Midsummer just a maybe, Reuters

"Parsons said the Atlantis flight, which originally was supposed to deliver a new crew and supplies to the space station, would be dedicated entirely to testing the new safety measures, and at least one additional flight would be added to refine those measures."

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16 September 2003: Space shuttles to last into next decade-Boeing, Reuters

"Since the International Space Station was designed to work with the space shuttle and to stay in service until at least 2018, the shuttle should probably stay in service until that date, Mott said. "So if you go to 2018 that becomes very logical because that (the shuttle and the space station) works together as an integrated system," Mott said."

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15 September 2003: 9 Days in September: NASA Responds to the Columbia Accident Report, SpaceRef

"The process of responding to the Columbia Accident Investigation Board's report began last week in Washington DC. The outcome of this process will, at a minimum lead to the path required to getting the Space Shuttle fleet flying again. This process may also lead to new directions for America's space program. Then again, it may not."

Editor's note: 14,000 words, 12 parts.

- Ground the Shuttle - Beyond the Shuttle - Separating People From Cargo - Farewell to Faster - Better - Cheaper

- More Money Please - Schedule - Risk - Learning

- Speaking Out - Visions - Leadership - Get With The Program

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11 September 2003: NASA looks for leadership, Orlando Sentinel

11 September 2003: NASA could build new craft in 5 years, Houston Chronicle

11 September 2003: House Panel Wary on Plan for Shuttle, NY Times

11 September 2003: Lawmakers Slam NASA Chief for Lack of Space Goal, Reuters

11 September 2003: Congress Criticizes Bush on Plans for Spaceflight, Washington Post

"Democratic lawmakers complained yesterday that the administration is making secret plans for the future of manned space flight without consulting Congress, while Republicans urged President Bush to enunciate his views on the future of the space program."

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10 September 2003: Rep. Lampson Re-Introduces Bill to Restore Vision for NASA's Human Spaceflight Program

10 September 2003: Rep. Gingrey: NASA must keep Murphy's Law in mind

10 September 2003: Research Subcommittee Chairman Nick Smith's Statement on NASA's Response to the Columbia Report

10 September 2003: Rep. Boehlert Statement at Hearing on NASA's Response to the CAIB Report

"That said, I'm still concerned that the target is exceedingly ambitious and could skew NASA's efforts to return to flight. We also need to hear more about how NASA will schedule launches after return to flight to avoid the excessive schedule pressure related to the construction of the International Space Station - pressure that was discussed in great detail in the CAIB report, and pressure that Admiral Gehman has cited as an area in which NASA leadership created a cultural problem."

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9 September 2003: Echoes of Gene Kranz

9 September 2003: Bush not a 'bad man,' just a 'bad president (Interview with Joe Lieberman), USA Today

"Failure is not an option here because this is now a major test in the war on terrorism."

9 September 2003: Bush Seeks $87B in Anti-Terror Funds, AP

"Howard Dean, another Democratic candidate, on Monday accused Bush of going into Iraq "recklessly" and said "failure is not an option."

9 September 2003: WTO head says Cancun talks key to world economy, Reuters

"Failure is not an option. It would send a very damaging signal around the world about prospects for economic recovery and would result in more hardship for workers around the globe, particularly in poorer countries," he said.

9 September 2003: Finally .... Fernandez, Del-Rio News Herald

"It's time to put up or shut up. When dealing with a child's education, failure is not an option," said Cadena. "We have a lot of work to do."

9 September 2003: Pinkel makes his pitch to St. Louis, ST. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Those that couldn't share his loathing of defeat had to go. Accepting failure is not an option around Pinkel."

Editor's note: Gee, with everyone else adopting this phrase - and rally cry - from NASA's glory days, one would think that NASA would embrace it - and integrate it into everything it does.

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8 September 2003: A Crucial Manned Probe, editorial, Washington Post

"The admiral also said that his investigation board could reassemble a year from now to examine NASA's progress. Congress ought to seize on this possibility. The board did a remarkable job in showing how the accident was as much a product of human failings as hardware failure, and it would be a shame to discard its expertise."

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4 September 2003: Columbia inquiry prompts White House strategy review, Nature (subscription required)

"The current US federal deficit and the mounting costs of the war in Iraq make any grand expansion of NASA's budget unlikely, but some commentators say that political factors may be coming together for a renewed US commitment to human space exploration."

4 September 2003: The Columbia Report: Will a Safer Shuttle Still Support Science?, Science (subscription required)

4 September 2003: The Columbia Report: 'I Think I Added Something', Science (subscription required)

4 September 2003: The Columbia Report: Vision, Resources in Short Supply for Damaged U.S. Space Program, Science (subscription required)

"Although leaders may not want to channel huge new sums to NASA, they can't stomach abandoning human space flight, either. Such a move would face strong opposition from aerospace companies, labor unions, and legislators representing districts in Florida, Texas, and California where NASA work is concentrated. It would also antagonize Russian, European, Japanese, and Canadian officials, whose countries have invested heavily in the space station."

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4 September 2003: Opening Statement by Rep. Ralph Hall at Columbia Accident Investigation Hearing

"Finally, we need to set some concrete goals for human exploration beyond the Space Station. Establishment of human exploration goals would ensure that we make the appropriate investments in our space program, would revitalize the NASA workforce, and would serve as a source of inspiration for both the NASA workforce and the American public."

4 September 2003: Boehlert Statement at First Hearing on the Investigation into the Columbia Accident

"I think all of us need to face up to the rather disheartening picture of NASA that has been so painstakingly drawn by the CAIB. If we fail to do so, it's readily apparent that we will just have to go through this same sad exercise again. NASA's experience may be the ultimate proof of Santayana's famous observation about those who fail to learn from the past being doomed to repeat it."

4 September 2003: House Science Committee Hearing Charter: The Columbia Accident Investigation Board Report

4 September 2003: Congressional Research Service: NASA's Space Shuttle Columbia: Synopsis of the Report of the Columbia Accident

4 September 2003: House Science Committee: Excerpts from the CAIB Report

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3 September 2003: Statement of Senator Ernest F. Hollings - Hearing on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board Report

3 September 2003: NASA Tells Breaux: Michoud Cooperated in Columbia Investigation

3 September 2003: Brownback Statement from Space Shuttle Columbia Investigation Report Hearing

3 September 2003: Prepared Statement by Sen. John McCain at Hearings on the Space Shuttle Columbia Accident Investigation Board

3 September 2003: Senate Testimony given by NASA Adminstrator Sean O'Keefe

3 September 2003: Senate Testimony given by CAIB Chairman Adm. Hal Gehman

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4 September 2003: Senior NASA Management Heads Off On Leadership Council Retreat

Editor's note: Sean O'Keefe made frequent mention yesterday of the management team he has put into place - before and after the Columbia accident. He made particular note of how he expects this team to lead as the agency
continues with implementing the recommendations of the CAIB report. At
a Leadership Council Meeting to be held outside of Washington at the
end of this week NASA's Center Directors, Associate Administrators, and
other senior management will coordinate their plans as they are told
what it means when O'Keefe says 'we get it'. NASA is expected to issue
its Implementation Plan for the CAIB report next Monday. Stay tuned."

August 2003

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27 August 2003: Send in your CAIB comments

Editor's note: What do you think about the CAIB's final report? Did they get it right? Can NASA accomplish all of the CAIB's recommendations? How should they do this? Send your comments to nasawatch@reston.com. Your comments will be posted - please note if you wish them to be posted with your name or anonymously.

-- Your many replies thus far --

Excerpt: "We workers know our place in the organization. We workers understand the risks. We workers will continue to report our dissent, even at risk to our upward mobility. When transferred out of the way, we will move on but will pass the torch to our peers to continue fight the good fight; to safely fly our national Shuttle treasure and her crews until something better is "on the pad"."

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2 September 2003: Follow-on publications by CAIB

Editor's note: According to a post to a space-related email list FPSPACE, a CAIB staffer said the people working at the CAIB "do not yet know exactly what they will do for follow-on volumes"

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30 August 2003: Grounding the Space Program, TownHall.com

It's time to think big. We should be exploring space. But unfortunately we'll never get out there if all we're doing is sending people up to the I.S.S. to travel in circles.

30 August 2003: Columbia aftermath: NASA seeks definitive mission, Reuters

"One day after the release of a scathing report on the shuttle Columbia disaster, NASA's chief agreed with one fundamental criticism: the US space agency lacks an urgent mission in the post-Cold War world. NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said on August 27 there was no motivation for his agency now comparable to the superpower competition for space that pushed NASA in its early years."

30 August 2003: Corporate success stories offer lessons for NASA, Orlando Sentinel

"Virtually every corporate success story -- Chrysler in the '70s, Harley-Davidson in the '80s and Continental Airlines in the '90s -- has been fueled by substantial change in organizational culture."

30 August 2003: Editorial: Safety first for space travel, NASA, Amarillo Globe News

"NASA should return to space as soon as is humanly possible. Rick Husband and his valiant crew would have it no other way. That return to manned space flight, however, must occur only after a demonstration that NASA truly gets it."

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29 August 2003: Experts Doubt Fix for NASA Safety Culture, AP

"Nobel Prize-winning physicist Douglas Osheroff, an investigation board member, insisted in the final editing that the accident report call for culture change in strong, direct language. The chapter listing the recommendations none of which mentions the word "culture" stresses at the beginning: "NASA's culture must change." Is that likely? "If I were betting," Osheroff said, "I would probably bet no." But, he noted: "There's one big difference right now. It is unquestionably true that if NASA loses another orbiter, we are out of human spaceflight for a long time. The stakes are really high."

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29 August 2003: Criticism of NASA safety checks grows harsher, Orlando Sentinel

29 August 2003: Advisers say NASA ignored warnings, Orlando Sentinel

29 August 2003: NASA culture called culprit, SJ Mercury News

29 August 2003: Failure Is Always an Option, NY Times

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28 August 2003: Report spawns rethinking about NASA's reliance on contractors, Government Executive

"A GAO report issued just a few days before Columbia was lost said NASA s contract management was ineffective and its financial controls were weak and risky."

28 August 2003: NASA Worker Proposed 'Scrub' of Web Site, AP

"Just days after the shuttle Columbia disaster, a NASA employee at headquarters proposed scrubbing the agency's safety office Web site to remove outdated or wrong information that could become "chum in the water to reporters and congressmen."

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28 August 2003: FOIA Request Uncovers Previously Unknown NASA Accident Investigation Website, SpaceRef

"One would assume that such a website, constructed by NASA civil servants, on government time, for explicit use with regard to the STS-107 accident investigation, would be considered part of the material provided in response to this FOIA request. Indeed, it is rather surprising that a non-governmental information system was used for such a purpose during such a highly visible accident investigation. Indeed, one has to wonder how much - and what sort of information exchanges - occurred outside of regular official government channels."

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28 August 2003: Missing Mars, OpEd, Daily Camera

"Dr. Robert Zubrin, the Denver-based manned space enthusiast and founder of the Mars Society, thinks the goal is obvious: to send humans to our nearest planetary neighbor. "Seven people died on Columbia for no real reason," he says. "But it is worth risking human life to explore new worlds."

Editor's note: Once again Dr. Zubrin turns to using tasteless and downright insensitive comments to make a point. I guess if someone isn't doing exactly what HE thinks is important, then it is not worth the risk. Well, from my perspective these people died serving their country - and doing something that THEY deemed worth the risk. They certainly thought that they had a reason to take that risk - regardless of Dr. Zubrin thinks.

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28 August 2003: Director says center working to fix foam on external tank, Huntsville Times

"Marshall Space Flight Center's director Wednesday said the center is responsible for the wing damage to the space shuttle Columbia from foam shed from the external tank. And he said the center is developing a fix to make sure it doesn't happen again."

28 August 2003: Director: Marshall erred in shuttle crash, Huntsville Times

"In the wake of the accident there have been changes in top level Marshall officials, including reassignment of the external fuel tank project manager, as engineers work to fix the foam problem, the director said."

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27 August 2003: Shuttle not likely to fly by spring, experts say, CNN

"Congress will not help NASA fly sooner. Quite the contrary," Cowing said."

27 August 2003: Investigator Criticizes Shuttle Report, AP

"The Columbia investigation board did not go far enough in its recommended safety changes, one of the investigators says in a supplemental report that urges NASA to strengthen shuttle inspections and correct mechanical problems that were unrelated to the disaster but could cause another. Air Force Brig. Gen. Duane Deal said Wednesday he felt compelled to highlight these issues after they ended up being buried, downplayed or dropped from the final report of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board."

27 August 2003: NASA Seeks Urgent Mission After Columbia Tragedy, Reuters

"NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said on Wednesday there was no motivation for his agency now comparable to the superpower competition for space that pushed NASA in its early years. There is "nothing comparable to what drove us as a nation with the threat of the prospect of thermonuclear war by a bipolar opponent on the other side of this globe that existed in the early 1960s," O'Keefe told a news conference."

27 August 2003: General Finds Fault in Staffing at NASA, NY Times

27 August 2003: NASA Chief Pledges He'll Make Changes, Washington Post

27 August 2003: Report Blames Flawed NASA Culture for Tragedy, Washington Post

27 August 2003: NASA's O'Keefe Says Space Program at `Seminal Moment', Bloomberg

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26 August 2003: Understanding Columbia - and Fixing NASA, SpaceRef

"While the mechanical fixes to NASA's shuttle fleet are straightforward, the human fixes that are needed will require persistence from everyone involved. The question before America is not just whether human space flight is worth the risk, but also whether NASA - and the nation - are up to the task. Everyone needs to get it right this time. Everyone."

26 August 2003: NASA's Underlying Woes: Fading Support and Science, Washington Post

"It will be up to all Americans to decide where to go from here. But the back cover of the shuttle report features an emblem that summarizes its authors' advice. "Ad Astra Per Aspera. Semper Exploro," the emblem reads in Latin. "To the stars, despite adversity. Always explore."

26 August 2003: Full Transcript: NASA Update on the Space Shuttle Columbia Sean O'Keefe and Scott Hubbard August 26, 2003

"... I would suggest that we update those words, that we indeed also adopt the principle of tough and competent and that each day when we enter and we do what we do throughout this agency every single one of us ought to be reminded of the price paid by Husband, McCool, Anderson, Clark, Challa, Brown and Ramon. These words are the price of admission to the ranks of NASA and we should adopt it that way."

26 August 2003: Full Transcript of CAIB Press Conference August 26, 2003, CAIB

"... The lives of these people are very precious to us, and the board considered that a very serious matter, that these brave people thought that what they were doing was important, that it was significant, that it was part of human space exploration, that the things that were going to be learned from this mission were worth the risk that they were taking."

26 August 2003: Transcript of Administrator O'Keefe's Appearance on "CNN Newsnight" with Aaron Brown Aug. 25, 2003
26 August 2003: Remarks by CAIB Chair Adm. Hal Gehman (Transcript)
26 August 2003: NASA Watch Editor Keith Cowing on CNN: The Columbia Shuttle Tragedy: Analyzing the Report (Transcript)
26 August 2003: Congressman Feeney Commends Columbia Accident Investigation Board
26 August 2003: Sen. McCain Statement on Columbia Accident Investigation Report
26 August 2003: DeLay: NASA One Step Closer to Shuttle Flight; Shuttle Program Will Be Safer, Smarter in Future
26 August 2003: Rep. Rohrabacher Applauds Columbia Accident Investigation Board's Findings and Conclusions
26 August 2003: Rep. Boehlert Praises "Selfless and Tireless Work" of Columbia Accident Investigation Board
26 August 2003: Chairman of House Research Subcommittee Statement on Space Shuttle Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) Report
26 August 2003: Statement by Rep. Dave Weldon, M.D. (FL-15) on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) Report
26 August 2003: Reps. Hall and Gordon Comment on Release of the Gehman Report
26 August 2003: NSS Urges NASA to Embrace CAIB Recommendations and Move Forward with Bold Vision for Space Exploration

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26 August 2003: Columbia Accident Report Released

The Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) has released its final report.

NASA Administrator Accepts Columbia Accident Report

Columbia Accident Investigation Board Statement

Columbia Accident Investigation Board Executive Summary

Columbia Accident Investigation Board Report (10MB PDF)

You can also download the report at: CAIB | NASA

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26 August 2003: No More Excuses: Cancel The Space Shuttle, Space Frontier Foundation

"Under the Foundation's proposal, money currently spent on the Shuttle would be converted into financial incentives to foster a new spaceship industry that could serve both government and commercial markets."

Editor's note: In other words you want a hand out. Why shouldn't this industry use its own money to develop these capabilities? Oh wait; it already is (Bezos, Musk, Rutan, Carmack ...)

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26 August 2003: Bush in the hot seat over shuttle's future, Houston Chronicle

26 August 2003: Match passion for space with fervor for safety, USA Today

26 August 2003: Hill to Use Report as 'Map', Washington Post

26 August 2003: `Echoes of Challenger' in Columbia blast, Houston Chronicle

26 August 2003: Short- and Long-Term Recommendations, NY Times

26 August 2003: Inertia and Indecision at NASA, NY Times

26 August 2003: A Husband Remembers, ABC

26 August 2003: NASA Sees Spring Launch for Next Shuttle, AP

26 August 2003: NASA's culture contributed to Columbia disaster: report, Globe and Mail

26 August 2003: Report Cites Flawed NASA Culture, Washington Post

26 August 2003: Shuttle report cites flawed NASA culture, Orlando Sentinel

26 August 2003: NASA lapses ended chance of saving crew, Orlando Sentinel

26 August 2003: Cash settlements possible for astronauts' survivors, Orlando Sentinel

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25 August 2003: White House to Issue Statement on CAIB report

Editor's note: NASA Watch has learned that the White House will respond directly to recommendations made in the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) report. The CAIB's report will be issued tomorrow. The White House will endorse the CAIB report. NASA, specifically Sean O'Keefe, will be tasked with implementation of the board's recommendations. The President will say something along the lines of "we will keep America at the vanguard of spaceflight and will continue the legacy of the Columbia and Challenger astronauts. They will not have died in vain."

25 August 2003: NASA Awaits Report on Columbia Disaster, AP

"[Sen. Barbara Mikulski, of Maryland] wants a 15-member board, selected by the House and Senate leadership, that will assure compliance with all the recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, which Mikulski calls the Gehman commission. She said the board would report to Congress every six months."

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26 August 2003: NASA Preparing Itself For Scathing Report, Washington Post

"The U.S. human spaceflight program is already very different from the organization that launched the doomed shuttle Columbia and its crew of seven on Jan. 16. What remains to be seen is how much more NASA officials will have to alter their basic way of doing business to satisfy the requirements of what promises to be a scathing 250-page report to be released today by the independent Columbia Accident Investigation Board."

25 August 2003: NASA's culture of denial, OpEd, Jim Oberg, MSNBC

"The culture can also be powerful because it is so pervasive, since it is rarely exposed to outside influences. Unlike the space team that conducted Apollo, recruited from a dozen major pools of experienced workers, most workers at NASA today have only worked at NASA since graduation. Some retired military officers are brought in at headquarters - mostly because they are good at "following orders" of the officials who hire them - and specialists are brought in as needed, but they are far from the levers of power within NASA. This encourages an inbred "groupthink" that is not conducive to disagreeing with what management wants."

25 August 2003: Shuttle-crash report prods NASA management, Christian Science Monitor

Noting the impact of flat budgets on NASA's culture of safety, [Howard] McCurdy continues, "over the last 30 years, no one in NASA has had the nerve to stand up to Congress and the White House and say, 'If that's all the money you've got, then we're not going to fly.'"

25 August 2003: NASA Awaits Report on Columbia Disaster, AP

"John Logsdon, a member of the board, said Monday the board believes "its criticism is founded on careful evidence, gathered in an intense way over seven months. So, if NASA views it as ugly, it needs to look at itself...." Logsdon, director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, said the report "will dig deep into the so-called culture," adding that "the language is frank and direct and there may be some surprises."

25 August 2003: Painful Questions: A conversation with Sally Ride, NY Times

"Q. Dan Goldin, the NASA administrator from 1992 to 2001, had a mantra, "Faster, better, cheaper." Was that a mistake?

A. "Faster, better, cheaper," when applied to the human space program, was not a productive concept. It was a false economy. It's very difficult to have all three simultaneously. Pick your favorite two. With human space flight, you'd better add the word "safety" in there, too, because if upper management is going "faster, better, cheaper," that percolates down, and it puts the emphasis on meeting schedules and improving the way that you do things and on cost. And over the years, it provides the impression that budget and schedule are the most important things."

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25 August 2003: Fasten your seatbelts.

Editor's note: Tomorrow, America's space program will begin to face a challenge which will rank among the greatest challenges it has yet to endure. The release of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board's report will begin a series of very public events wherein virtually every facet of NASA's human spaceflight endeavors - and even the agency's soul - will be placed under close scrutiny.

Following the catharsis of the report's release, a gauntlet will be run by all of the players in this drama as every corner of Congress and the media weighs in and exacts their pound of flesh - or gives their vote of confidence. Alas, most will both praise and condemn. This process will run it self out sometime in October - around the time that the next crew to inhabit the International Space Station is due to blast off.

Last night I sat and watched two things on the History Channel: Ron Howard's "Apollo 13" and Gene Kranz's "Failure is not an option". I am certain I am not the only one who looks back at all of this and wonders why so many things seem so hard now - and challenges so daunting - when NASA in the 60's did not know any better to tackle impossible things - and then get up after an accident and go at them again - as hard - if not harder.

The crew of Expedition 8 don't know how they will be coming home after their stay in space - Soyuz or Shuttle. Nor do they (or any of us) know what NASA they will return to - one armed and invigorated with a new commitment to move on - and outward, or one reigned in by political shortsightedness and insecurity relegated to satisfaction with the status quo.

(Much) More to follow.

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28 August 2003: Over the Moon, editorial, Wall Street Journal

"The Columbia astronauts were brave and accomplished and died prematurely doing the nation's work. Despite its drubbing this week, NASA itself is a can-do agency: It's not about to go on strike, saying we can't work in these conditions, with these tools, with these priorities. But changing the "culture" of NASA will take outside leadership to craft a new and more compelling space mission."

28 August 2003: Still Lost in Space, Op Ed, Washington Post

"But watch what they do, not what they say. The shuttle program's budget has been cut and cut. It has become a public relations boondoggle, not to mention just another area for Congress to add pork barrel projects. School kids send up experiments (how to paint with urine, an available commodity in any capsule) and presidents add this or that foreign astronaut for diplomatic, not scientific, reasons. This is a program that has lost its way."

27 January 2003: "Fun with Urine" Stirs Students' Imagination, NASA

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22 August 2003: White House Turns Down Shuttle Budget Boost Request, Florida Today/Space.com

"The White House has turned down a NASA request for an extra $1.6 billion next year to get the three remaining shuttles flying again and speed up development of the proposed Orbital Space Plane, Florida Today has learned."

Editor's note: Contrary to what is claimed in the Florida Today/Space.com story, i.e. that the White House has turned down a request by NASA for additional funds, NASA Watch has learned that the White House (OMB) has neither approved or rejected any budget request by NASA. NASA will be submitting its FY 2005 budget request to the White House this Fall. Any requests for additional funds for Shuttle program fixes (accident recovery) or OSP acceleration in the form of an amendment or supplemental request to the FY 2004 budget will likely be submitted in roughly the same time frame as the FY 2005 budget submission. Moreover, any such supplemental request to the FY 2004 budget will be worked as part of a larger, overall plan which will include coordination with the FY 2005 budget request.

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25 August 2003: NASA set to revamp system, Orlando Sentinel

"The changes are detailed in a 121-page report titled "NASA's Implementation Plan for Return to Flight and Beyond." An Aug. 5 draft was obtained by the Orlando Sentinel."

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23 August 2003: NASA's Next Step, US News & World Report

"NASA's immediate goal is to get the shuttles safely flying again, perhaps as early as next March. And it does intend to complete the station, according to William Readdy, associate administrator for space flight. That task requires the shuttles, because the ISS modules were designed to fit into their cargo bays. But then the costly, fragile shuttles could be mothballed. Before the accident, some NASA officials had vowed to keep them flying through 2020. "I don't think [that's] plausible now," says Cowing."

23 August 2003: NASA Watch Editor Keith Cowing on NEXT@CNN 23 Aug 2003 [Transcript], CNN

"... culture is sort of a key that all reporters have on their keyboards these days. And when something happens at NASA they don't quite understand, they say, Oh, it's culture. There's more to it than that. There's a culture within NASA works, there's the contractor community, there's Congress, and then there's the public. So I don't want to cast the blame elsewhere. But you've got to understand NASA not by itself, but within the context with which, you know, it does all these marvelous things. Scant attention is paid to the fact that all these spacecraft operate perfectly. It's when one thing goes horribly wrong that suddenly we think, Well, the entire agency is messed up. That's not true."

23 August 2003: Congress counts down to report on Columbia, Houston Chronicle

"Throwing the word `culture' around is a recipe for letting everyone off the hook because no one knows what it means," said [David Goldston, chief of staff of the House Science Committee]. "Clearly this is an agency that needs change. If the discussion is about some indefinable notion called `culture,' that's not going to get us very far."

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23 August 2003: Columbia's 'Smoking Gun' Was Obscured, Washington Post

"While most of the ingredients of Columbia's destruction had been collecting for some time, tucked away in the crannies of a complicated bureaucracy, no one had seen them, either. In contrast to the 1986 loss of the shuttle Challenger, when engineers had tried to stop the launch only to be overruled by higher-ups, this time the portents had become invisible to all those who might have altered events."

23 August 2003: Way to fix panels in space shows promise, NASA says, Orlando Sentinel

"Engineers are studying a repair for heat-resistant panels on the leading edges of the space shuttle's wings that could eliminate one of the major obstacles to resuming launches."

22 August 2003: Investigator's Assignment Nears End, NY Times

"As the board members studied the shuttle disaster, he said, they realized that they needed to look beyond failing hardware and simple human error into NASA's culture, to see if there were elements that all but compelled bad decisions. "It's more than just an accident report," Admiral Gehman said.

23 August 2003: Hard-hitting report on Columbia disaster coming, AP

"Force Brig. Gen. Duane Deal, a board member, says the report will be "a frank assessment of what we've seen has happened to NASA over the years and its current state." Even Gehman has hinted that the tone of the report may well be newsworthy, given its toughness. Yes, it will be ugly."

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22 August 2003: NASA- from the ground up, Daily News

"Think about the ultimate reality show, now taking off with this crew - not going to the moon, been there, done that - but going to Mars," [Gene] Kranz said. "That would be a four- or five-month journey, and people could be living with this crew, and each day looking forward to this one step."

22 August 2003: NASA Culture, Columbia Probers on Collision Course, Washington Post

"O'Keefe said he considers the idea that NASA has a cultural problem "arguable." He said, "There clearly is a problem with the information flow and the decision-making process -- you can call that culture." But he said the principal lesson of the Columbia disaster is that "people are very fallible, people make mistakes" in judgment."

22 August 2003: OneNASA web site on "Culture".

Editor's note: NASA's recent "One NASA" efforts are just dripping with the word (and concept) of "culture". A few examples:

From www.onenasa.nasa.gov

"... One NASA's focus is cultural change. It was begun by NASA employees and is fully backed by NASA leadership."

Recommendation 4: Organizational Culture: Revalidate and advance our common organizational values to build a unified culture. [details: "The pursuit of One NASA is more cultural in nature and will be somewhat more difficult to measure. You will know it when you see it."]

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22 August 2003: Congressmen: NASA Must Change 'Huge Blob Of Bureaucracy', AP

"It's going to require us to knock some heads and to affix some accountability and to make sure certain people are let go and make sure changes are made. There's nothing that resists change more
than a huge blob of bureaucracy," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, chairman of the House Science Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics."

22 August 2003: Behind the doors of Mission Control, USA Today

"Anyone curious about the origins of NASA's flight culture, which has been under fire again since the loss of the shuttle Columbia in February, will find plenty of clues in the missions described in this two-hour documentary. Though failure may not have been an option, it was a real threat, and it still is today."

21 August 2003: NASA braced for culture shock as Columbia inquiry reaches verdict, Nature

"Asked whether that would apply to any call to reform NASA's culture, [Deputy Administrator Fred] Gregory said: "It would be difficult for me to define to you what the NASA culture is."

22 August 2003: Remarks by President Bush After Meeting Local Economic Leaders - Excerpt Regarding Columbia Accident Investigation, White House

"Let me first -- I've been a strong supporter of NASA. I want to look at the report before I comment. You may have seen the report; I haven't, in which case, I want to look at it. I do believe that a space program is important for a country that is trying to stay on the leading edge of technological change. But let me look and first see what the report says, how critical it is, what it says, what it means."

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21 August 2003: Columbia Accident Investigation Board Will Release Final Report on August 26, 2003, CAIB

"ARLINGTON, VA - The Columbia Accident Investigation Board will hold a press briefing to discuss its final report on the cause of the February 1, 2003 Space Shuttle accident on Tuesday, August 26, 2003 at 11 a.m. EDT at the National Transportation Safety Board boardroom at 429 L'Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C."

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20 August 2003: A Preview of Congressional Activity

21 August 2003: Editor's Update: The House Science Committee will be holding a full committee hearing with Adm. Gehman on 4 September 2003. Unlike what I was first posted, this will not be a joint hearing with the Senate. Word has it that that The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (chaired by Sen. McCain) is planning a hearing for 9 September 2003.