Nov 14 2003
From The Space Library
NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe announced the appointment of the team that would lead the new NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC), chartered in the wake of the Space Shuttle Columbia accident. NASA's Office of Safety and Mission Assurance would assume oversight of the NESC. Based at NASA's LaRC, the NESC would coordinate and conduct testing and safety assessments in support of critical NASA projects and programs. O'Keefe had charged Director of LaRC Roy D. Bridges Jr. with assembling a team to get the Center up and running. O'Keefe remarked that Bridges had “assembled a dynamic group of recognized experts in the fields of engineering analysis and risk mitigation.” The group comprised new Director of the NESC Ralph R. Roe Jr., formerly Manager of the Space Shuttle Vehicle Engineering Office at NASA's JSC; new Deputy Director Paul M. Munafo, formerly Manager of Materials, Processes and Manufacturing at NASA's MSFC; and new Deputy Director of Safety J. Larry Crawford, formerly Director of Research Engineering at NASA's DFRC. Roe's appointment as Director of the NESC drew criticism from the U.S. Congress because of his involvement in decisions regarding Columbia's fatal mission. As Director of Shuttle Vehicle Engineering at the time of the Columbia accident, Roe had been one of several managers who dismissed concerns about possible damage to the Shuttle's external tank when foam insulation struck the orbiter's left wing after launch. Moreover, he and other mission managers had decided that it was unnecessary to obtain satellite images of the orbiting Columbia to check for damage. (NASA, “NASA Names Leaders for Engineering and Safety Center,” news release 03-352, 14 November 2003, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2003/nov/HQ_03352_NESC_leaders.html (accessed 5 February 2009); Todd Halvorson, “NASA Promotes Criticized Manager,” Florida Today (Brevard, FL), 15 November 2003.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
