spacetoday.net: Transcript shows shuttle managers unconcerned about foam strike

Posted: Thu, Jul 24, 2003, 6:38 AM ET (1038 GMT)
STS-107 patch (NASA)

Shuttle managers showed little concern in meetings held during the STS-107 mission about possible damage to the shuttle caused by a foam strike during launch, transcripts released this week reveal. The transcripts of the mission management team (MMT) meetings held during the mission show that the foam strike was only briefly discussed during several MMT meetings during the mission, and when it was discussed, the impact was dismissed as not a major issue. When the impact was discussed, the concerns were about damage to tiles on the underside of the orbiter, not to the reinforced carbon-carbon panels on the leading edge of the wing. In a sometimes-emotional interview with reporters late Tuesday, Linda Ham, who chaired the MMT meetings, said there was a lack of communication between lower-level engineers, who were concerned about possible damage to the shuttle, and the managers. She said that no one person is responsible for this lapse in communications, or the accident itself, and said the management process itself is to blame.