Dissenting (Differing) Opinions

NASA Announces Media Update About Space Shuttle Program

“NASA announced a news conference starting at noon EDT, Thursday in the agency’s Webb Auditorium, 300 E Street SW, Washington.”

NASA Return to Flight Task Group Final Report: Annex A.2 Individual Member Observations

A.2 Observations by Dr. Dan L. Crippen, Dr. Charles C. Daniel, Dr. Amy K. Donahue, Col. Susan J. Helms, Ms. Susan Morrisey Livingstone, Dr. Rosemary O’Leary, and Mr. William Wegner

“NASA’s leaders and managers must break this cycle of smugness substituting for knowledge. NASA must be able to quantify risk, even if imperfectly, set requirements and expectations, and hold organizations and individuals accountable, Analytical models – while valuable tools – cannot substitute for engineering judgment and conscience. Rigor must be reestablished throughout the Agency. Opinion, no matter how well informed, cannot replace objective evidence. Flight history, while critical for informed judgment, cannot substitute for it. “We’ve been lucky” is a statement that should never be associated with the human spaceflight programs.”

Meet The Press, Transcript, 31 July 2005, NBC

“DR. GRIFFIN: Well, certainly we were lucky. If it had broken off earlier and if it had followed a different trajectory, it could have hit the orbiter, as any piece of foam could, and could have done some damage.”