Senior managers who took part in the decision-making that led to the ferry crash were transferred from their positions. NASA recently announced that it hopes to restart its shuttle fleet in December
Even before the publication of the final investigation report into the circumstances of the crash of the space shuttle Columbia in February, the American space agency announced on Wednesday the removal of several senior managers from their positions. The managers, who were transferred to other positions in the agency, took part in making the decisions that led to the ferry's crash.
Linda Hamm, who headed the mission's management team during the shuttle's stay in space, and Ralph Rowe, director of the engineering office at the Space Center in Houston, were replaced. In their place will be the director of the shuttle program, William Parsons, who took office last month. Lambert Austin, a third engineer involved in the decision-making, will also be replaced.
Ham and Rowe played a crucial role in making decisions, which investigators criticized in the months after the shuttle crash. Among the decisions, receiving an erroneous report about the damage to the left wing during takeoff, which after the crash turned out to be one of the causes of its crash, as well as the continued failure to obtain photos of the shuttle's body during the flight to check the extent of the damage.
The steps precede by several weeks the publication of the final report of the commission investigating the Columbia crash. The committee promised to dedicate a significant part of its investigations to the organizational and managerial flaws in NASA.
The decision to conduct a round in senior positions at NASA symbolizes a new aggressive approach in the space agency, which is coming towards the publication of the final report, and towards a return to launching shuttles into space. The agency's director, Sean O'Keefe, said the agency accelerated the schedule for personnel changes because members of the investigative committee were unequivocal about the personnel changes they wanted to see. "We understood their demands, and we act accordingly," he said.
The investigative committee that examines the circumstances of the disaster on behalf of NASA has long criticized the decisions of the two senior managers, but for the time being has not pointed an accusing finger at them as factors that directly contributed to the crash.
"I believe that the new people who will come to the program in the future will have a different and new perspective on the subject," Parsons said in a telephone interview with reporters. "One question I will pose to them will be - 'How can we prevent such disasters in the future,'" he added.
NASA recently announced that the cause of the shuttle's crash was, apparently, an impact of insulation foam from the external fuel tank on the left wing during takeoff. The impact of the insulation trim caused damage to the outer sheath of the wing, which consists of ceramic insulation tiles designed to reduce the high heat generated by friction as the shuttle re-enters the Earth's atmosphere. The damage caused to the tiles caused some of them to fall and leave the wing exposed to the intense heat. Indeed, the heat created by a hole in the wing, caused it to disintegrate, took the shuttle out of the exact entry angle, which led to its disintegration into the elements in the last minutes before landing. However, NASA stressed that this is not the publication of the committee's official conclusions but interim conclusions, and also said that it is possible that we will never know for sure what happened to the shuttle.
A few days ago, the investigative committee announced that the agency's engineers had identified the damage to the wing, even held discussions on the matter, and even hurried to inform the astronaut team about the damage caused, but they reassured them and told them that there should be no effect on the stay in space, the safety of the flight or the landing.
Meanwhile, NASA announced that it intends to return its shuttle fleet to operation already in December of this year, after it was shut down after the disaster. The operation of the fleet, which now consists of three shuttles, is essential for transporting crew members and equipment to the International Space Station, where two people - an American and a Russian - are currently staying.
