Glenn Mahone/Bob Jacobs Headquarters, Washington February 2, 2003 RELEASE: 03-034 NASA ANNOUNCES SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION BOARD (THE GEHMAN BOARD) NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe today announced the members of the Space Shuttle Mishap Interagency Investigation Board, which will provide an independent review of the events and activities that led up to the tragic loss of the seven astronauts Saturday on board the Space Shuttle Columbia. The board's first meeting is scheduled for tomorrow at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. Retired U.S. Navy Admiral Harold W. Gehman, Jr., who co-chaired the independent commission that investigated the attack on the U.S.S. Cole in Aden, Yemen, Oct. 12, 2000, and once served as the commander-in-chief of U.S. Joint Forces Command, will chair the panel. "While the NASA family and the entire world mourn the loss of our colleagues, we have a responsibility to quickly move forward with an external assessment to determine exactly what happened and why," said Administrator O'Keefe. "We're honored to have such a distinguished panel of experts, led by Admiral Gehman." Other members of the investigative board includes: * Rear Admiral Stephen Turcotte, Commander, U.S. Naval Safety Center, Norfolk, Va. * Major General John L. Barry, Director, Plans and Programs, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio * Major General Kenneth W. Hess, Commander, U.S. Air Force Chief of Safety, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. * Dr. James N. Hallock, Aviation Safety Division Chief, U.S. Department of Transportation, Cambridge, Mass. * Steven B. Wallace, Director of Accident Investigation, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington * Brigadier General Duane Deal, Commander 21st Space Wing, Peterson Air Foce Base, Colo. Several senior NASA leaders also will be a part of the panel, including G. Scott Hubbard, Director, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. Bryan D. O'Connor, NASA Associate Administrator and former astronaut, Office of Safety and Mission Assurance, Headquarters, will serve as Ex-Officio Member, and Theron Bradley, Jr., NASA Chief Engineer, NASA Headquarters, Washington, will be Executive Secretary. "We need to be responsible, accountable, and extremely thorough in this investigation," added Administrator O'Keefe. "This panel is charged with a most difficult task, but I am confident in their ability, their integrity, and their dedication to doing what's right. Their findings will help push America's space program successfully into the future." "Currently, NASA is beginning an internal investigation, drawing on the extensive expertise throughout the agency. Public officials for NASA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and other federal, state, and local entities are coordinating talents to help find the cause of this tragedy," concluded Administrator O'Keefe Additional information about the investigation and the STS-107 mission is available on the Internet at: <http://www.nasa.gov> <http://spaceflight.nasa.gov> -end- ------------------------------------------------------------- For automatic email subscriptions to this KSC originated press releases, send an Internet electronic mail message to mailto:ksc-news_release-subscribe@kscnews.ksc.nasa.gov. With no subject or message. The system will reply with a confirmation via e-mail of each subscription. To remove your name from the list at any time, send an email addressed to mailto:ksc-news_release-unsubscribe@kscnews.ksc.nasa.gov . With no subject or message. or you can (un)subscribe on the World Wide Web at: http://kscnews.ksc.nasa.gov/ Status reports and other NASA publications are available on the World Wide Web at: http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/kscpao.htm .
