Congress Wants NASA To Explain Decision-Making Process -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 10/21/2003
Last Visited: 11/17/2003
Concerns about the launch of another crew to the space station from Russia Oct. 18 were raised during pre-launch reviews by two officials at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston: Nitza Cintron, NASA's chief of space medicine, and William Langdoc, chief of the Habitability and Environmental Factors Office.
...
Cintron and Langdoc signed a dissent that warned about "the continued degradation" of environmental monitoring and health maintenance systems and exercise equipment aboard the station, but those concerns were overruled by NASA management and the Russian Soyuz rocket was launched Oct. 18.
...
While Cintron's and Langdoc's concerns were overruled, NASA officials were satisfied that they had given the issue full consideration.
...
Cintron and Langdoc said they were not made to feel uncomfortable when raising their concerns with management, an issue that may have been a problem during the Columbia mission.
...
While Cintron and Langdoc both opposed the launch early in the flight readiness review process, their concern was not with the launch, but with long-term habitation of the station.