NASA's self-protective culture and its reluctance to tackle safety problems head-on contributed to the fatal breakup of shuttle Columbia, just as technical factors tore the ship apart, independent investigators reported yesterday.
The Columbia Accident Investigation Board, set up after the Feb. 1 tragedy that killed seven astronauts, said in its final report that NASA needs to set up separate safety agencies that will be able to get the attention of top space officials when things go wrong.
The board found that NASA engineers raised questions soon after Columbia's launch on Jan. 16 about a piece of foam insulation that was seen falling from the ship's massive external tank about 81 seconds after liftoff.
Engineers asked three times during the 16-day mission for satellite images of Columbia in orbit to check on whether the foam struck and damaged the ship, but such images were never obtained.
The board's report said NASA officials missed eight opportunities to address concerns about the falling foam, which was ultimately found to be the accident's most probable cause.
"From the beginning, the board witnessed a consistent lack of concern about the debris strike on Columbia," the report said. "NASA managers told the board `there was no safety-of-flight issue' and `we couldn't have done anything about it anyway.'"
The report drew parallels between NASA management problems now and at the time of the 1986 Challenger disaster, which also killed seven astronauts.
Board members agreed early on that the foam hit the heat-shielding leading edge of the left wing, causing a breach that allowed superheated gas to invade the ship on re-entry and led to its disintegration over Texas.
"NASA's organizational culture and structure had as much to do with this accident as the external tank foam," the board said.
After seven months of work at a cost of about US$20 million, the 248-page report recommended wholesale changes in how the NASA does business, including the creation of a Technical Engineering Authority funded directly from NASA headquarters to monitor safety outside the constraints of individual program pressures.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from