Charlie Camarda, a 30 year veteran of NASA and well respected engineer holding 7 patents, has resigned from NASA prior to this weekend's Discovery shuttle launch:
ABCNEWS: According to sources at NASA, Camarda had feuded with Wayne Hale, Manager of the Space Shuttle Program, and Mike Griffin, NASA's administrator, regarding the treatment that Camarda's fellow engineers received when they raised concerns about the upcoming Discovery launch. Some engineers felt that more substantial changes needed to be made to improve safety. Specifically, some believed that even more foam needed to be removed from the shuttle's exterior to lessen the risk that falling foam would damage the shuttle during launch.
Mr. Camarda's post-resignation email to his former staff is written just like engineers are known to do: facts, data, analysis and recommendation even with the circumstances surrounding his departure. While the point can be made "aw hell, he sounds like a disgruntled employee", understand that engineers of any salt base their recommendations about any innovations, repairs, or other troublesome problems on data. Engineers deal with REALITY, not perception, and they bring evidence to the table to support their views.
Both AP and Reuters have recently reported that the shuttle's foam issue, which caused the demise of 7 of Columbia's astronauts in 2003, is still a problem:
REUTERS:: In July 2005, NASA launched shuttle Discovery to test-fly a new fuel tank design -- but the fix turned out to be nearly as troublesome. More foam insulation, including a piece as large as one pound (0.4 kg), dislodged as the shuttle rocketed toward orbit. Luckily, none of the debris struck the shuttle.
Luckily? That's what NASA chooses to rely on, just some gamble hoping that another tragedy doesn't happen? What is this, Vegas? This situation brings to mind an weirdly similar situation with the ill-fated Challenger and the fuel tank O-rings. According to the Washington Post and APOnline, Camarda (who was recently transferred to Langley to work in safety from his prior position on the Mission Managment Team) is not the only one who dissented from the decision for the launch from NASA Administrator Michael Griffin - he's just the only one who put his money where his professional convictions are.
Particularly unsettling is Griffin's final comment in the aforementioned article: "Pushing everything off, Griffin said, "would be really dumb." We guess all we can hope for the crew of the Discovery is that Charlie Camarda is wrong and Griffin isn't proven completely stupid. Somehow, that doesn't feel comforting.
Tags: Camarda, NASA, Discovery, shuttle, space, Columbia, Challenger
