Former Astronaut Blasts NASA’s ‘Culture Changes’, WESH.com
“The senior leaders don’t like to listen. They’ve surrounded themselves with compliant people up and down throughout the organization. Subordinates, in an effort to please bosses, are just doing the best they can to deliver sunshine reports, and so most of the people at the top think nothing’s wrong,” Wetherbee said.
Safety Concerns Again Postpone Shuttle Mission, NY Times
“James D. Wetherbee, a former shuttle commander who retired this year and who has become a vocal outside critic of the agency, said the decision “indicates a healthy change for the better in the culture.”
Editor’s note: Once again, no one – either Wetherbee – or the reporters who quote him – makes note that after his departure from NASA Wetherbee (often known as ‘Wxb’) was paid as a NASA consultant – and that he was hired to help JSC and NASA improve the agency’s “culture”. What is also omitted by Wetherbee is the fact that he was Flight Crew Operations Director and JSC Deputy Center Director under George Abbey at at time when some of NASA’s ‘culture’ problems were at their worst. I wonder why he never addressed these issues – with full attribution as he now does – while he held those positions? Pot-kettle-black?
