So Monday, NASA released a new version of its plan to get the shuttles back to space. The update outlines dozens of extra actions the agency is taking.
It also estimates NASA will spend at least $280 million in 2003 and 2004 to make the changes ordered by the board. That's the first price cited for shuttle reforms, from fixing the fuel tank foam that doomed Columbia to creating a new safety and engineering center.
NASA officials said the estimates, shown to members of Congress on Friday, were preliminary and do not include the cost of several important and potentially expensive fixes. The estimate is not a request to increase the $3.8 billion-per-year shuttle budget.
"Instead of flying, we're doing research and development to get back to flying," NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said. "This is the first jab at estimating the cost of all of that."
The updated return-to-flight plan focuses heavily on activities at Kennedy Space Center, notably the quality control and inspections done while workers ready the shuttles for launch.
Drawing from interviews with more than 200 shuttle workers, the accident board made "observations" about the number and quality of inspections NASA does to double-check work by contractors such as United Space Alliance.
Deal went further. He wrote an add-on chapter to the board's report. In it, he argued the board should have mandated tougher pre-flight inspections before the next launch instead of just noting the concern as an "observation." Deal said the issues he raised needed extra attention to "prevent the next accident from occurring."
NASA responded by assembling experts from the Defense Department, Federal Aviation Administration and private companies to do a "top-to-bottom" review of the inspections process. The group has finished its inquiry and will make recommendations to shuttle managers later this year. NASA did not release details of the team's findings or recommendations.
Also, NASA temporarily made it harder to remove items from the list of components and procedures that must be checked by agency inspectors prior to launch. The number of such "government mandatory inspection points" plummeted over the years as NASA handed over more control of shuttle work to its contractors.
Deal's report made similar recommendations about quality control and inspections at the New Orleans-area plant where the external tanks are built by Lockheed Martin Corp.
Deal could not be reached Monday for comment about the NASA plan.
Three specific shuttle system failures that could lead to catastrophe were addressed too, even though they did not cause the Columbia accident. They are:
Metal rings that connect the two solid rocket boosters to the 15-story orange fuel tank might lack the strength to do the job. NASA promised to do tests to make sure the rings are tough enough to withstand 1.4 times the stress they experience during launch. That's always been a rule, but shuttle officials waived the requirement before Columbia's launch.
Failures in the thick posts that hold shuttles to the launch pad could cause a shuttle to break up shortly after liftoff. The posts failed without disastrous results during the launch just before Columbia. But NASA kept flying without redesigning the system. NASA said Monday it will change how the posts are installed and inspected before the next flight.
Salty, corrosive moisture at the shuttles' ocean-front home cause hidden damage to critical parts such heatshield panels that protect the front of orbiter wings. That can lead to the type of fatal heat breach that downed Columbia. Shuttle engineers are studying corrosion concerns, but have not yet identified specific solutions.
Few of those changes are included in the $280 million worth of return to flight costs outlined in the report. That preliminary budget focused on changes already in the works.
The vast majority of those costs are associated with eliminating the problem of foam insulation shedding from the external fuel tank during launch, damaging the shuttle heat shield.
The biggest item by far is the $65 million pegged for redesigning the tank.
Another $44 million is planned for improving ground cameras scattered across the Cape, tracking shuttles as they roar off the pad. Faulty cameras gave engineers blurry or unusable pictures of the debris strike. That left mission managers without critical information for deciding if Columbia was badly damaged and needed emergency help. High-definition television cameras are planned.
Developing ways to inspect and repair heat shield tiles in orbit could cost $57 million. A new safety and engineering center at Langley Research Center in Virginia will cost $45 million.
Published under license from FLORIDA TODAY. Copyright 2003 FLORIDA TODAY. No portion of this material may be reproduced in any way without the written consent of FLORIDA TODAY.
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