Mar 9 2000
From The Space Library
An independent study, commissioned by NASA in the wake of the highly public failures of Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander, found that cost-cutting measures had created significant risks for NASA's Shuttle program. Although the report maintained that the overall safety of NASA's operations remained within an acceptable range, the investigators warned that the use of contractors and the lack of oversight compromised the quality of NASA's missions. NASA's chief of the Office of Space Flight accepted the report's recommendations to improve NASA's operations, also noting, however, that NASA had already investigated and dealt with many of the weaknesses highlighted in the report. With budgetary matters always a pressing concern, NASA had made various necessary reductions in personnel, relying on companies such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin more than ever. NASA had initiated the investigation to understand more fully the impact of the changes on NASA's highest priority the safety of its astronauts.
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