spacetoday.net: CAIB report to criticize NASA organization, management

Posted: Sun, Jun 8, 2003, 9:05 AM ET (1305 GMT)
NASA

The final report of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) will go far beyond the accident itself and censure NASA's management and culture, according to a draft outline of the report leaked to the media. The Orlando Sentinel first reported Friday that the ten-chapter report will focus as much on the technical causes of the accident as on poor decisions and other organizational issues that may have led to the accident. According to the outline, the first three chapters will provide background on the shuttle program and the STS-107 mission itself. The fourth chapter will discuss the likely cause of the accident, to be followed by three chapters that will discuss root causes and contributing factors; these chapters will focus on NASA's management, decision-making processes, and overall culture. These issues include how repeated foam strikes on the shuttle became accepted, as well as communications and decisionmaking issues among engineers and managers while the shuttle was in orbit. The CAIB plans to release the report on July 24, just before Congress goes on summer recess, but noted that it would delay the release if they felt they needed additional time to do the report.