NASA managment addresses safety problems by firing those who identify safety problems
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060627/NEWS02/60627 0324/1007/NEWS02 CAPE CANAVERAL - An astronaut from NASA's first post-Columbia mission told colleagues Monday he was fired from a high-ranking engineering job after refusing to step down from the team responsible for safety during Discovery's upcoming flight. The sudden departure of Charles Camarda from his job as director of engineering at Johnson Space Center changes the team responsible for flight safety -- five days before the planned launch of seven astronauts on the agency's second post-Columbia test flight. It also came on the heels of NASA Administrator Mike Griffin's recent decision to proceed with Saturday's launch despite objections from the agency's chief engineer and its top safety officer, the latter of whom also is a former astronaut. Camarda, who served as a mission specialist on Discovery's flight last summer, took the job as director of engineering at JSC in November. In that capacity, he would have served during the upcoming flight on NASA's Mission Management Team, which is responsible for overseeing safety while shuttle crews are in orbit. An expert in spacecraft thermal protection systems, Camarda accepted an immediate reassignment to a post with the NASA Engineering and Safety Center, an oversight group created after the Columbia accident. The group is based at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. Camarda will work out of its office at JSC. But in an e-mail to colleagues, he indicated that he was forced to relinquish the Mission Management Team post held by the JSC director of engineering. "I refused to abandon my position on the MMT and asked that if I would not be allowed to work this mission that I would have to be fired from my position and I was," Camarda said in the e-mail, a copy of which was obtained by FLORIDA TODAY. He lauded the engineering team at JSC for the hard work done to ensure a safe flight for Discovery and said he, his wife and four children "were confident knowing my safety was in your hands" during the mission last summer. Camarda added that he was proud of the way JSC engineers "stood up and presented your dissenting opinions" about proceeding with the upcoming launch at a June 17 flight readiness review. "I am most proud of the way I can count on you to do and say the right thing and stand up and be counted," Camarda said. He urged colleagues not to allow his departure to be a distraction during final launch preparations. "Please do not let this affect your focus at this crucial time!" the e-mail stated. "I have been offered a position and will continue to support this agency, which I love, and be a good team member." Camarda did not return a phone call from FLORIDA TODAY. He also did not accept interview requests routed through the JSC Public Affairs Office. NASA named Stephen Altemus as the new JSC director of engineering. He had been deputy engineering director at the NASA field center in Houston. A former chief of the launch and landing division at Kennedy Space Center, Altemus on May 8 was selected to lead a new 800-member engineering organization at KSC. Gregory S. Williams [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
