SHADOW@UMASS.BITNET (Local UMass address is The SHADOW@Mailer.CY175) (03/02/86)
With the recent wave of testimonials given by both NASA Launch Control
executives, and Morton Thiokol engineers, it would appear that someone is
definitely trying to evade the presidential axe from falling on them. I
realize that at first this sounds like an obvious statement, but there are
subtlties about it which extend beyond the surface of the apparent shift-
ing of blame now going on between these two factions. The first thing to
notice is all the letters the three major networks seem to be uncovering
through their nefarious sources which all seem to have forewarned of the
shuttle disaster. With the number of these letters always increasing, it
seems to me as if the people who wrote them did so, knowing that the recipient
could toss them aside when nothing went wrong, and yet, had that on their
record when the inquisition came knocking on their door. In other words,
forecasting doom seems to be the best way of covering your butt if the
unthinkable happens. With all the noise Morton Thiokol is raising, I now
begin to wonder whether it's the engineers, or the bureaucrats who are being
entrusted with the future of manned space flight. Certainly, if it is
latter, then NASA can expect more disasters like this to plague them into the
next century, if we ever get off the ground before then. Outstanding service
from a major aviation firm is measured by its ability to stand by their
clients when the worst happens. From Morton Thiokol's slipshot testimony
AFTER the fact, NASA should seriously look for a new SRB developer.
- James Belfiore
(SHADOW@UMass.Bitnet)