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President Bush Calls Space Program 'Important,' Has Not Seen Columbia Accident Report
By Leonard David
Senior Space Writer
posted: 08:17 am ET
23 August 2003
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President Bush Says 'Space Program is Important,' Hasn't Seen Columbia Accident Report Following a meeting with economic leaders in Seattle, Washington yesterday, U.S. President George W. Bush was asked to comment on the upcoming release of the final report from the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB). The report is due out Tuesday, Aug. 26. A reporter requested Bush to answer a "Texas-related question" about the CAIB findings, adding that the report is anticipated to be critical of NASA. The President was asked if he supported the resumption of human space flights and the future of NASA, as well as whether the program should be better funded and restructured. President Bush's response: "I've been a strong supporter of NASA. I want to look at the report before I comment. You may have seen the report; I haven't, in which case, I want to look at it. I do believe that a space program is important for a country that is trying to stay on the leading edge of technological change. But let me look and first see what the report says, how critical it is, what it says, what it means. And I'll answer -- try to answer that very question after I've had a chance to enrich my knowledge about a pending report." Meanwhile, only 100 copies of the report are to be produced for the initial press run, prompting CAIB officials to worry they might not have enough to go around. Copies are already promised to Bush, Congress, the space agency, a handful of journalists and the families of the Columbia astronauts. Columbia was destroyed during a re-entry mishap on Feb. 1.
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