Space Shuttle Columbia Investigation, 2003 - CNN - James Carville and Bob Novak

Macidull contends that a Columbia abort, an in-orbit damage inspection and repair, or a rescheduling of the Atlantis shuttle launch from five to two weeks as a rescue vehicle (as possible without shuttle payload considerations), were all viable options which NASA management did not address during or after any possible critical damage may have occurred during liftoff. Macidull's (Challenger Presidential Commission) book, "Challenger's Shadow", 2002, relative to the Columbia disaster of 2003 prompted interest. Therein he predicted another possible shuttle accident if NASA did not change priorities concerning senior manager technical qualifications, and the implementation of pre-existing in-house safety procedures. Shuttles were restricted from further flights after the first flight because of O-Ring problems. NASA management lifted this restriction that allowed budgeting and schedule to override safety concerns. The O-Ring problem was extant on nearly all subsequent shuttle flights. Luck ran out on flight 25, and was no surprise to many with technical experience inside NASA and the Morton Thiokol Co.
http://www.macidull.com

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