HOUSTON -- There are many after effects from Columbia's catastrophic reentry, some symbolic in nature. For one, the NASA culture and its human spaceflight venture are now feeling the heat of public and political scrutiny.
In the Clear Lake community where NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) resides, there is a palpable air of sorrow mixed with tinges of guilt and even culpability. At the same time, there is a strong urge to get a shuttle airborne as quick as possible.
As a way to cope with the loss of Columbia and its intrepid crew, many console themselves in the knowledge that pushing back the frontiers of space is risky business. With 14 people now lost to the shuttle program -- Challenger in 1986 and now Columbia more than 17 years later -- there is all the more need to press ahead and pledge that the astronauts did not die in vain.
While there is comfort in embracing these views, there is also a less spoken notion.
Uncovering the root cause
It is an unnerving prospect that a likely managerial, procedural, or technical blunder befell Columbia. That fact is why an "independent" Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) was set in motion. The board's sovereignty is a tacit guarantee that NASA won't cover up the truth about the accident, or that a shuttle contractor would conceal wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, a large space workforce here has been dedicated to uncovering the root cause of why Columbia failed to fly home. First things first, then fix the problem and start sailing shuttles back into Earth orbit. NASA formed a Mishap Response Team shortly after the Columbia accident. That activity ended March 21. In its place, the space agency has established a NASA Accident Investigation Team (NAIT), holding its first meeting March 24. NAIT is closely matched with the CAIB's trio of fact-finding avenues: materials, operations, and technology.
For those in the tightly knit "NASA family," outsiders peeking in on space agency and contractor business are not always warmly received.
CAIB chairman, retired Admiral Harold Gehman, Jr., recently bristled at a suggestion that NASA study groups might come up with different conclusions and recommendations than the independent board.
"I'm not going to be influenced by their [NASA] opinions. But they will be influenced by ours," Gehman retorted.
Morale-boosting therapy
Touching on any NASA return to flight planning, CAIB members have cautioned the space agency about such notions. "We aren't going to be the adjudicators of return to flight... but we will make recommendations as to the parameters of return to flight," Gehman explained.
NASA's Ron Dittemore, manager of the space shuttle program, told the CAIB a few weeks ago that the best morale-boosting therapy for his teams is to solve what happened to Columbia. "Everybody wants to be engaged in this effortwithout exception," he said.
Dittemore already has issued an action item list of return to flight activities to investigate, such as:
- Changes to the external tank insulation to preclude any loss of foam during the shuttle system's ascent into orbit.
- In-orbit inspection and repair of a space plane's leading edge wing surfaces and thermal protection tile system, perhaps by using the International Space Station and Department of Defense ground and space-based sensors.
- Review and recommend possible improvements to ground based launch and ascent photographic and radar coverage.
- Identify options to obtain flight coverage of critical launch and ascent activities and environments, including data gathering from external tank and solid rocket booster platform locations.
- Examine the possibility of trajectory modifications to further minimize entry heating of a space shuttle.
In the near future, the CAIB is expected to issue its own set of interim recommendations.Economic force
The health, stability and future of NASA JSC and its human spaceflight agenda means big business for Clear Lake and for Texas as a whole.
A study done in 2001 by the University of Houston-Clear Lake took note of JSC's economic force in the area. JSC had a business impact of $1.19 billion, affected 27,000 jobs and created $2.2 billion in personal income.
On a state level, the center contributed some $2.04 billion to the Texas economy, while impacting nearly 50,000 jobs that garnered $3.7 billion in personal income.
And there is no mistaking that Clear Lake is a NASA settlement. Many of the streets unabashedly proclaim that fact. The JSC complex rests on NASA Road 1, surrounded by Space Center Boulevard and Saturn Lane. Neighboring roads include Gemini Avenue and Moon Rock Drive.
As for local businesses, sprinkled among them you see Apollo Glass & Mirror, NASA Wholesale Barkyard and Landscaping, as well as Space City Signs & Graphics and Apollo Chiropractic.
There are numerous watering holes for the weary, like the Outpost Tavern, a short drive from JSC and a favorite hangout of space engineers. Pictures on the wall show days of space programs past and snapshots that capture a more youthful look of mission control veterans. Similarly, the walls at Frenchies, an Italian restaurant, are covered with scores of autographed astronaut photos.
Personal loss
Throughout Clear Lake there are reminders of space missions gone awry too, like the grouping of stores at a strip mall called the Challenger Plaza.
Earlier this month, a newly built Astronaut Memorial Fountain was dedicated. Seven jets of water represent each astronaut of Columbia's last flight.
"Whether we were close to crew members or not, to some degree we all felt a personal loss when Columbia disintegrated over east Texas sky," said three-time shuttle astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria.
"She was a flagship of our fleet and she represented the space shuttle program...our nation's human spaceflight efforts and, in part, our national pride," he said at opening ceremonies for the fountain.
"We are wounded, but we'll recover and return to flight just as Columbia's crew would ask of us," Lopez-Alegria said.
Space for lease
Directly across from the fountain, at the main entrance to NASA JSC, is an outpouring of public emotions spurred by the Columbia disaster.
Flowers, hand written notes to banner-size messages proclaim the sorrow but celebrate the lives of gone but not forgotten astronauts. Among the many sentiments expressed is the following: "This flag was on my crane at work since 9/12/01 to remember 9/11. Now it's here to remember Columbia and its crew. God bless and rest in peace."
Further down the road from the gates of JSC you can find the NASA Vision Center. While home base for an optometrist, a cryptic sign is posted in the center's parking lot. It reads: Space for Lease.
Perhaps a sign of the times...symbolic of a space agency now grounded and caught in a foggy future.
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