Shuttle engineer says he's off team

His e-mail cites a conflict over his support of those who questioned flight preparation

By MARK CARREAU
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

The Johnson Space Center's director of engineering said Monday that NASA has removed him from the management team for the space shuttle flight scheduled for Saturday after he expressed support for workers who questioned preparations for the flight.

Charles Camarda, 54, a former shuttle astronaut and veteran aerospace engineer, said in an e-mail to colleagues that his removal from involvement in the scheduled launch of Discovery, on which he flew last year, was against his will. The e-mail was distributed to others, including reporters.

"I refused to abandon my position on the (mission management team) and asked that if I would not be allowed to work this mission that I would have to be fired from my position and I was," he wrote.

"I was most proud at all the (weekly shuttle meetings) and at the (June 17 review) when you stood up and presented your dissenting opinions and your exceptions/constraints for flight," Camarda said in the e-mail.

He refused to comment Monday night when a reporter visited his home in League City.

James Hartsfield, a space center spokesman, would not comment on Camarda's e-mail but noted Camarda had not been fired and that he would remain in Houston, though assigned to the NASA Engineering and Safety Center, an safety organization headquartered at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.

The NESC was established after the Columbia shuttle tragedy to provide independent safety and engineering assessments on both manned and unmanned projects.

Dean Acosta, NASA director Michael Griffin's spokesman, would not comment on the action either other than to say it should not be construed as an attempt by the administrator to prevent engineers with dissenting opinions to speak out.

"The administrator is absolutely open," said Acosta.

"He expects anyone to bring any issues to the table and that's not rhetoric. That is a requirement."

At the June 17 meeting Camarda mentioned in his written message, Griffin authorized Saturday's launch after a closed-door review of the mission preparations, including opposing opinions from Bryan O'Connor, the agency's safety chief, and Chris Scolese, the chief engineer.

Discovery's liftoff from Florida, set for Saturday at 2:49 p.m., CDT, will mark NASA's second attempt to rebound from the 2003 Columbia accident that killed seven astronauts. The tragedy was blamed on damage to Columbia's heat shield caused by an impact with foam falling from the ship's external fuel tank.

Camarda was among seven astronauts aboard Discovery as the shuttle lifted off July 26 as part of NASA's first comeback attempt. The launch was accompanied by more falling foam, including a 1-pound chunk that tumbled close to the right wing.

The space agency grounded the shuttle again to remove more of the foam debris hazard. However, many engineers urged NASA to remove the foam surrounding 37 metal brackets on the tank before launching again.

As the space center's engineering director, Camarda has supervised more than 8,000 personnel who support the shuttle, international space station and a wide range of other technical programs.

The extent of any safety concerns by Camarda about the latest Discovery mission was not clear Monday. Camarda was replaced by Steve Altemus, who has served as the deputy director of engineering at JSC since November 2004. As the engineering director, Altemus will take Camarda's place on the mission management team.

The Chronicle's Eric Berger contributed to this report.
mark.carreau@chron.com

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