big surprise
The Stafford-Covey Task Group, an advisory panel tasked with checking to see if NASA is complying with the recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, has found that NASA has failed to accomplish three of the fifteen recommended improvements ordered by the CAIB. Their conclusions are not binding on NASA, so the shuttle may launch anyhow, even though the three improvements (eliminating critical launch debris, hardening the carbon-carbon panels on the leading edges of the wings, and developing a way to repair the ship in orbit) are some of the most basic safety measures that can be imagined. From the Orlando Sentinel:
"NASA officials have consistently said in recent months that while they value the task group's role, space-agency managers ultimately will decide whether the shuttle is safe to resume launches."
My question is: why go through the charade of the CAIB and this subsequent review? Why bother if the results will simply be ignored?
The Shuttle is a bad design. Period, full stop.
"You can't legislate that people should be smart," NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel on Monday.
This is true; it also speaks volumes about NASA.
Technorati Tags:
NASA, Space Shuttle, Columbia
1 comment:
I've been wondering how Griffin will look at this. Because in the end he gives the final go/no-go for the shuttle launch. He must know that the Shuttle is only flights away from another catastrophic failure. He has to make a choice... And a guess as to how many flights, if any he can squeeze out to finish the ISS.
That's why he's rushing ahead with the the next generation CEV. He knows.
He knows that any shuttle flight is a gamble at this point.
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