03 September 2003
Senate Committee Begins Review of Columbia Accident Findings
McCain calls conclusions a "wake-up call" for space program
The U.S. Senate is reviewing an analysis of the catastrophic February crash of the space shuttle Columbia. In a Senate Commerce Committee hearing September 3, Chairman John McCain, a Republican from Arizona, said the findings "must serve as a wake-up call to NASA and to the nation that we have for too long put off hard choices, and forced the space program to limp along without adequate guidance or funding."
In a report released August 26, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) determined that physical and organizational causes both played roles in the loss of the space shuttle Columbia and seven astronauts on February 1.
Not only does the CAIB report explain the events that led to the crash, McCain said, the findings also will help shape the nation's discussion of the space program's future and the public's expectations for it.
Other testimony from the hearing is available at http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=907
The CAIB report can be found at http://www.caib.us/news/report/default.html
Following is the text of the McCain statement:
(begin text)
US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation
Given at a Full Committee Hearing: Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) Report on Shuttle Tragedy --
Wednesday, September 3 2003
The Testimony of The Honorable John McCain Chairman, U.S. Senator (R-AZ)
Last week, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board released its report on the causes of the Space Shuttle accident that occurred seven months ago, and today, the Committee will begin a thorough examination of its conclusions.
The Board's final report is one of the most comprehensive ever produced concerning the management and operations at NASA. It must serve as a wake-up call to NASA and to the nation that we have for too long put off hard choices, and forced the space program to limp along without adequate guidance or funding. As stated in the report "...unless the technical, organizational, and cultural recommendations made in this report are implemented, little will have been accomplished to lessen the chance that another accident will follow."
The report reminds us that we are still in the developmental stages of space transportation, and that space is an unforgiving environment which challenges our technical expertise. It also raises a number of important issues that will have to considered as we plan for the future of the space program. Most importantly, we will have to figure out where we want the space program to go, and what we expect to get out of it. Then, we will have to ensure that adequate and unearmarked funds are provided for these missions. It is imperative that we eliminate wasteful spending and make efficient use of those resources we commit to space exploration.
The Board worked tirelessly to identify and clarify the causes of this accident, and I am deeply grateful to its members for their dedication. Although the technical causes of the accident have been suspected for some time, the Board's findings concerning the role that NASA's organizational structure and culture played in this tragedy are as troubling as they are valuable.
As the Board reported, "complex systems almost always fail in complex ways." The many factors that contributed to the accident largely demonstrate how far NASA has regressed: its incomplete and invalid impact analysis; its rejection to seek satellite images of the damaged Shuttle; its reliance on past success as a substitute for sound engineering practices; its organizational barriers that prevented effective communication of critical information and stifled professional differences of opinion; and its lack of integrated management across program elements. The report further describes NASA's culture as including "flawed decision making, self deception, introversion and ... diminished curiosity about the world outside." We will want to hear from Administrator O'Keefe about precisely how and when this culture can be changed.
I welcome Administrator O'Keefe and Admiral Gehman and look forward to hearing from them on the Investigation Board's findings and recommendations, and NASA's plans to return the Space Shuttle program to flight.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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