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 the decision-making that led to the crash of the shuttle.
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 a few weeks the publication of the final report of the committee investigating the Columbia crash. The committee promised to devote a significant part of its investigations to the organizational and management flaws in NASA.
The decision to conduct a round of senior positions at NASA symbolizes a new aggressive approach at 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 the 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, most likely, the 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 when the shuttle Penetrating back into the Earth's atmosphere, the resulting damage to the tiles caused one of them to fall, leaving the The wing is exposed to a lot of heat. Indeed, the heat that created a gap in the wing, caused it to break apart, which led to its disintegration into the elements in the last minutes before landing. However, NASA emphasized that it was not a matter of publishing the official conclusions of the committee, and said that it was 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.
In the meantime, NASA announced that it intends to return its fleet of shuttles to operation as early as December of this year, after it had been shut down after the disaster. The operation of the fleet, which now numbers three shuttles, is essential in order to transport crew members and equipment to the International Space Station, where two people are currently staying - an American and Russian
