May 13 1994
From The Space Library
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama, announced the selection of Boeing Defense and Space Group, Missiles and Space Division, Seattle, Washington, for a contract to provide the Shuttle Upper Stage system with related integration and launch support services for the space-based Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF). (NASA Release C94-q) May 15: Rene Pellat, head of the French space organization CNES, said that both the Mars 94 and Mars 96 proposed Russian missions with large international participation were to be postponed by at least two years because of Russia's economic difficulties. (W Times, May 15/94)
Hal Francis, the former FBI agent who led the 20-month investigation of NASA conducted by the FBI, the NASA Office of the Inspector General, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Agency, said at least 25-and perhaps as many as 50-cases of suspected corruption among employees and contractors at NASA were strong enough to merit criminal charges. To date, however, charges had been filed against only eight individuals and one company as a result of Operation Lightning Strike. Francis believed that the U.S. attorney's office pursued only the "easy" cases, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez denied this and said other charges were to be filed. Francis and his colleagues in the sting operation demonstrated they could influence illegal major government contracts worth nearly $2.4 billion at Johnson Space Center alone. (H Chron, May 15/94)
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