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Calls grow for changes in shuttle probe
By Eric Pianin and Rob Stein, Washington Post, 2/13/2003
As Congress opened its probe into Columbia's destruction with an unusual joint hearing, the ranks of legislators voicing concern about the makeup and mandate of the panel probing the accident swelled to include members from both houses and both parties. Lawmakers said that at a minimum, the commission headed by retired Admiral Harold Gehman Jr. must be totally insulated from possible NASA influence by changing the commission's charter and that the current nine-member panel must be expanded to include several outside scientists and specialists. A few called for the appointment of a presidential commission, similar to the one created following the Challenger explosion in 1986. ''The words of the [commission's] charter simply do not guarantee the independence and latitude that both the [NASA] administrator and the admiral have sincerely promised,'' said Sherwood Boehlert, Republican of New York and the House Science Committee chairman. ''The charter's words need to match everyone's intent now to avoid any problems later.'' Meanwhile, crews searching for space shuttle debris found ''significant amounts'' of human remains believed to be Columbia's astronauts, Sheriff Tommy Maddox said. The remains, Maddox said, were found in Sabine County, which is bordered by a reservoir that divers have been searching along the Louisiana line.
Human remains have been taken to the military mortuary at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for identification. NASA has said remains from all seven astronauts have been found. NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe, the lone witness at the four-hour hearing, defended the investigation but left open the possibility of adding additional members with more distance from the space agency and possibly further amending the panel's charter. By the end of the session, however, O'Keefe signaled that the Bush administration would give the commission members carte blanche to conduct the probe as they see fit. ''We hear you and we're moving,'' O'Keefe told Boehlert. The hearing, jointly conducted by Boehlert and Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona and chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, ranged widely from the latest theories on the probable cause of the disaster to troubling questions about whether Congress and NASA were complicit in the accident because they gradually cut spending for the space shuttle during the past decade. Without ruling out any theory, O'Keefe said it was unlikely the breakup of the Columbia was caused by a block of foam insulation striking the left wing 80 seconds after liftoff. He also doubted the disaster resulted from Columbia's age or human error. O'Keefe also said that he doubted the accident was related to budget problems, citing NASA statistics showing that even as program spending declined, the efficiency of the shuttle operation increased and the number of problems associated with each mission decreased. ''The immediate task before the agency is clear,'' O'Keefe told the lawmakers. ''We will find the problem that caused the loss of Columbia and its crew, we will fix it, and we will return to flight operations that are as safe as humanly possible in pursuit of knowledge. ''We have an independent accident investigation board of truly outstanding and eminently qualified individuals,'' he added, ''and they, and they alone, will determine the cause of the accident and its remedy -- no matter where it leads.'' Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
This story ran on page A8 of the Boston Globe on 2/13/2003.
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ASHINGTON -- A number of key Republican members of Congress joined Democrats yesterday in questioning the independence and objectivity of a commission investigating the space shuttle Columbia disaster, as pressure mounted to expand the panel and give it total freedom from NASA officials.
