CAPE
CANAVERAL - NASA will end up spending three times more than anticipated to pay
for an independent review of the agency's response to recommendations made by
Columbia accident investigators.
The
extra cost -- about $4 million -- is the result of significant delays in
returning NASA's shuttle fleet to service.
The
Return To Flight Task Group, headed by former astronauts Thomas Stafford and
Dick Covey, will have its final meeting today in Washington. A summary of its
final report will be delivered Tuesday morning to NASA Administrator Mike
Griffin. He will then decide whether NASA should proceed with plans to launch
Discovery in July on the first shuttle mission since the 2003 disaster.
Columbia
and its seven astronauts were lost after a 1.7-pound chunk of foam insulation
broke free from the shuttle's external tank 81 seconds after launch and blasted
a 6- to 10-inch hole in a wing panel.
The
damage went undetected during the 16-day flight. Hot gas blowtorched through
the hole during atmospheric re-entry Feb. 1, 2003, and the shuttle
disintegrated over Texas. There were no survivors.
NASA's
former administrator, Sean O'Keefe, set up the Stafford-Covey group in July
2003 just before the release of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board's
report. Their job: provide the administrator with an outside assessment of
actions taken by NASA's shuttle program to implement the safety fixes
recommended by the accident board.
At
the time, NASA expected to spend $2 million. But Dave Drachlis,
spokesman for the Return To Flight Task Group, said that estimate was based on
returning the shuttles to flight by December 2003.
The
launch plans were pushed back repeatedly as NASA encountered technical
difficulties while redesigning the external tank, developing an orbital inspection
boom and putting in place a means for astronauts to make emergency repairs in
space.
Now,
task force operations are expected to cost $6 million, based on a return to
flight in July. Drachlis said 90 percent of the money
had been spent by late May.
Included in the total: the cost of an office near Johnson
Space Center in Houston; hourly wages and travel expenses for the 26 members of
the panel and 12 staffers; periodic rental of facilities for public meetings;
and information technology support.
The
group so far has held meetings in Brevard County, Houston, and Huntsville, Ala.
Members also have visited NASA headquarters in Washington as well as contractor
factories in Texas, Louisiana and Utah.
Task
group members were paid at a rate equivalent to a federal government employee
who makes $116,519 a year.
None
of the members worked full time, however. Instead, they filed the number of
hours worked and received an equivalent hourly rate: $55.83 an hour. Drachlis said board members averaged eight to 10 hours of
task group work per week.
Five
board members declined any pay, Drachlis said.
To
date, the independent oversight group already has approved work NASA has done
on 12 of 15 return to flight recommendations made by
the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. The 26-member panel today will gauge
NASA's work on the three that remain. Those recommendations involve:
- Initiating a program to
eliminate debris shedding from shuttle external tanks.
- Initiating a program to
increase the ability of shuttle orbiters to withstand minor debris damage.
- Developing a capability to
inspect shuttle tiles and wing panels in orbit and make emergency repairs
if necessary.
Drachlis said the panel did not expect any
"showstoppers" to crop up at the final meeting, which is the first of
several key events this week that could determine whether NASA can launch
Discovery between July 13 and 31 as planned.
At
Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday and Thursday, NASA will conduct a traditional
flight readiness review for Discovery's test flight to the International Space
Station. Barring any unresolved issues that could delay the launch, a firm
launch date is expected to be announced at the end of the two-day conference.
If
NASA scraps plans for a July launch, the next opportunity will come during a
window from Sept. 9 to Sept. 24.
Published under license from FLORIDA TODAY. Copyright © 2005 FLORIDA TODAY. No
portion of this material may be reproduced in any way without the written
consent of FLORIDA TODAY.
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