I also write "Viewpoint", a bi-monthly column for Launch Magazine. You can read my columns by clicking on the link below.

Get the Space Shuttle Back In the Air!

By WALTER CUNNINGHAM
Published in the Houston Chronicle, May 16, 2003

Okay, so we've had another manned space disaster, the third in 40 years, and the faint-hearted are once more out to save us from the risks.  They are concerned age and corrosion have taken their toll or the shuttle is too fragile or the wear and tear of going in and out of space is greater than anticipated.  Congressman Joe Barton goes so far as to say, "We ought to scrap the program, or limit it to transporting only cargo, not humans."

Columbia won't be the last space disaster!  Unfortunately, we can spot some common factors in the three tragedies.  Complacency was a factor in at least two of them and Management decisions played a significant role in all three.  Following the Apollo 1 and Challenger accidents, virtually everyone got on the bandwagon to make the vehicles accident proof.  In the aftermath of Columbia, we have an opportunity to break that pattern.  We can become more accepting of the risk in manned spaceflight and more realistic about our expectations.  We can still avoid the mistakes of spending billions of dollars and years of time for dubious or cosmetic "improvements" or adopting operational restrictions that add little or nothing to safety but have a severe impact on operational flexibility.

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It's time to get realistic about the Columbia "rescue"

By WALTER CUNNINGHAM,
Published in the Houston Chronicle, June 8, 2003 

Since a proposed scenario was first leaked and then released that "NASA could have staged a rescue mission had managers recognized that fatal damage had been done," it has become the source of great speculation. All official releases from NASA and the investigating board have emphasized the necessity for management to have been aware of "mortal danger" and to have learned of the lethal wound "almost immediately." Both of these qualifications were physical impossibilities for the incident in question.

Former astronauts and others have entered the debate, so I will add my two cents worth. It's time to talk some sense before the media gets too carried away with Buck Rogers rescue scenarios emanating from both inside and outside of NASA that may be technically possible but absolutely impractical in the real world.

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On the Road to Recovery?

By WALTER CUNNINGHAM,
Published in Florida Today, 26 August 2003 

The verdict is in! The recovery is underway, but will it get the job done?

The investigation of the Columbia disaster was conducted in the full glare of public scrutiny, the difficult environment in which NASA has always operated.

It is apparent NASA management has anticipated the recommendations contained in the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) report. After all, even in their wounded state, NASA knows more about what went wrong and what needs fixing on the shuttle than any committee of instant experts.

NASA administrator, Sean O'Keefe, announced his intention to go beyond any recommendations of the CAIB when he said, "Recommendations on deficiencies will be not only met but exceeded." He added, "If it applies to the shuttle, it ought to apply to every program at NASA."

That's nonsense! It misses the point completely. In the manned spaceflight business, we have always had to live with trade-offs. All programs do not carry equal risk nor do they offer the same benefits. The acceptable risk for a given program or operation should be commensurate with the potential benefits to be gained. The goal should be a management system that puts safety first but not safety at any price.

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Grand Vision for NASA, or Unfunded Mandate?

Without a cost estimate for the president's new vision, the administration and Congress cannot truly embrace the investment.

by Walter Cunningham
Published in the Houston Chronicle, February 2004

It was wonderful to see President Bush identify himself with NASA and announce a new charter and grand vision for NASA. For any grand plan of exploration to succeed it must be championed at the highest levels. The president's plan can provide the focus that NASA has been missing for a long time. The plan, however, did not sound like it had much input from engineers and operational types.

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The Wrong Stuff Is Tipping the Scales At NASA

By Walter Cunningham
Published in the Houston Chronicle

In a Sunday Op-Ed article (Advancing Both Science and Safety), NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe defended (once more) the decision he announced in January to cancel the last Hubble repair mission. Mr. O'Keefe claimed it was too risky, citing compliance with the safety recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB). But nothing in the CAIB Report precludes flying a mission not associated with the ISS, the only destination on Mr. O'Keefe's shuttle itinerary.

O'Keefe announced he would do everything the CAIB recommended even before their report was finished. But recommendations are just that, recommendations, not something to which management must blindly adhere. Leadership demands that intelligence, common sense and operational factors be applied in considering which recommendations to follow, when, and by how much?

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Is a Robotic Servicing Mission the Answer for Hubble?

By Walter Cunningham
Published in the Houston Chronicle June 2004

Two days after President George W. Bush announced his "Moon, Mars and beyond" initiative, NASA disclosed it was canceling the last Space Shuttle mission to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope.  Since then, the public outcry over the cancellation has drowned out support for the new initiative.

In response, NASA's managers have proposed a robotic mission to extend Hubble's life and, in the process, demonstrate new technologies that can advance its broader space exploration agenda.  In reality, they are risking science, exploration, taxpayer dollars, and possibly even human lives to avoid flying the Space Shuttle one more time. 

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