How do NASA safety procedures today compare with those instituted after the shuttle tragedy?
If you read the report of the space shuttle management independent review team, issued in February 1995 and known as the Kraft report, the post-Challenger safety program is the biggest danger to safety in the shuttle program today. Out of Challenger carne a robust, systematic safety and quality program that is separate and distinct from the people who are flying the shuttle every day. They’re worried about flying it, whereas the safety people are worried about keeping it safe. The Kraft report said that’s wrong, that safety should be everyone’s business in general and no one’s in particular. Q: When does greater efficiency approach recklessness? A: If you read the open letter that Jose Garcia, manager of shuttle electrical systems at NASA, wrote to President Clinton and NASA Administrator Dan Goldin last August, we’re past that point. He said that proposed job cuts and other changes would reduce shuttle safety. Q: Project 10 years into the future. Will there have been another shuttle d
