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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo -- The Columbia investigation board intends to release its final report on the cause of the space shuttle accident by June, a source close to the independent investigative body has told Space News.
The report is expected to address not only the cause of the re-entry disaster, but also give NASA guidance on what it needs to do to return its remaining three orbiters to safe operations.
The Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB), led by retired U.S. Navy Admiral Hal Gehman, was established by NASA within 48 hours of losing Columbia and her seven astronaut crew over the western United States Feb. 1.
The board has been conducting a broad based investigation aimed at finding not only the technical root cause of the accident, but also any systemic management and budget problems that might have compromised the safety of the mission.
NASA officials said April 8 they are expecting the first interim report from the the board within the next 30 days. That interim report is expected to give NASA an early indication of the kinds of steps the agency will need to take to clear what is left of its shuttle fleet for flight.
With the international space station on orbit and occupied, NASA is under tremendous pressure to get the shuttle fleet flying again. A two-person caretaker crew is set to relieve the three men on board at the end of April, a resource-saving measure NASA and its partners have agreed to out of necessity.
"We do have people flying in orbit right now and we want to be able to support them again with the shuttle as soon as possible," said Roy Bridges, director of the Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
Without shuttle to deliver water and other consumables, the task of resupplying the station falls entirely on the Russian Progress vehicle. Russia is obligated to provide just three such vehicles a year. Negotiations are underway to get Russia to launch a September mission a month early and launch one extra mission this fall, perhaps as early as November.
One senior NASA official expressed optimism that whatever befell Columbia can be fixed in time to resume operations in February or March 2004.
Under that scenario, NASA and its partners would muddle through the remainder of 2003 without having to temporarily abandon the station, something they are reluctant to do.
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