spacetoday.net: Congress, CAIB to monitor NASA during shuttle return to flight

Posted: Sun, Jul 27, 2003, 1:03 PM ET (1703 GMT)
STS-107 patch (NASA)

Members of Congress said Friday that they as well as the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) plan to keep a close eye on NASAas the agency prepares to return the space shuttle to service. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), chairman of the House Science Committee, told reporters Friday that he plans to hold a series of hearings once the final CAIB report is published in late August, with the first tentatively scheduled for immediately after Labor Day, when Congress reconvenes after its summer recess. Boehlert said that it should be up to Congress and the President to determine that NASA has made the required upgrades and changes before allowing the agency to resume shuttle flights. He added that members of the CAIB plan to continue in an oversight capacity once their final report is published, and may reconvene one year after issuing the report to determine how NASA has implemented their recommendations.