How many more billions of dollars are the taxpayers expected to pay out for this debacle? How much taxpayer money was just spent to upgrade the fuel tank, just to end up a tank that isn't any safer than that what they started with? How many more lives have to be lost?

I also think the safety director needs to standup. Either it's safe or it isn't. To say the shuttle isn't safe to fly, but I won't stop the flight is idiotic. Show some balls. To imply that it's okay to fly because there can always be a rescue mission is asinine.

Whether it's the pre 9/11 foul ups, the Katrina fiasco, or fatal shuttle launches, the real responsibility lies with the unseen and unnamed government functionaries that are above punishment and beyond justice.

This a very proper letter of departure and expresses the honesty and integrity that we expect from the engineering staff at NASA. Well done.

An interesting story! Given the history of politicization and short-cutting at NASA, I am not surprised. When a 30-year vet isn't happy with the risk, the risk should be reconsidered. Sadly, the squeaky wheels have been right more often than they should have been.

Stand up for what you believe in! I am very proud someone in that Organization believes in safety over a rush back into space.

Extreme courage. We need more like him in our political arena - willing to stand up and fight for what is right!! Thank you for publishing this article.

I wondered if they could just yank all the foam seconds before the launch. Is it really needed during ascent?

Extreme courage. We need more like him in our political arena - willing to stand up and fight for what is right!! Thank you for publishing this article.

NASA, without a mission, is really just a place for space wannabes to hang out and spend money. The failure in all this is not on the heads of NASA leadership (or lack thereof), or in the government (for they have no business in it in the first place,... write the check, then sit down and shut up), its lies on the heads of every man, woman and child in this country for not standing behind the exploration and colonization of space,... 100%. You can whine and politicize the "failures" of NASA all you want,... you're merely pointing out your own failure in giving them a solid direction to go, and the faith and backing they need to get there. As to whether the shuttle is safe or not,... hell, no, its not safe,... its 200,000 pounds of explosives. Get over your childish need for everything to be safe,... we manage the risks the best we can,... it'll never be safe. You want it to be "safe"? It'll cost 2 trillion dollars,... pick your poison and live with it.

I'm behind you Mr. Camarda!
One Hundred Percent! Why don't the powers that be put their owns butts on that candle and fire away.
What have they got to lose except their lives!

I think Mr. Camarda exibits courage and integrity considering that he has been with this program for 30 years and jepordized his job security to stand up for what is right. How many individuals would, not many. The public should applaud him for his stand

the gentleman is right; we need to have safety before any operation. for, he is given no respect; also he is fired. this is the mixture of politics and the common man.

it amazes me how this country/government can justify putting the kind of money they do to explore an idea that something out in space will benefit mankind, although not for several decades if that! all the while, we have mankind that cannot afford/recieve healthcare; no food to eat or place to sleep; children at placed at huge disadvantages due to their financial instability and envioronment. what benefit is it to explore space at this cost if mankind is unable to survive here on earth!! we should be taking care of home first, and that means more $$ being allocated here than "out there"..

Mr. Camarda is a brave man. To me, the real heroes are the ones who speak their truth. Unfortunately, they have a special word to describe such a person--a whistle blower. When is that gonna change?

Just another waste of money, this space program. We need to work on things here at home and leave the exploring to individuals that want to go into space. that's how we topped everest, found the pole, reached the 4 min mile. It's up to goverments to care for their people and individuals to go out and explore.

The foam is needed during ascent to protect the ET from aerodynamic heating. I've seen onboard videos of Delta launches that show the insulation on the top of the SRBs actually chars from this heating.

The same happens to the ET during a shuttle launch. Look at the photos of the jettisoned ET taken during the last mission and you'll see a lot of blackened areas. A few are from the SRB separation motor plumes, but not all of them are.

The real problem here is not so much unnamed government functionaries, but a self-perpetuating institution that insists on sending people into low earth orbit again and again for no particular reason.

All real space exploration is currently being done by robots. Highly successful examples include Cassini and the Mars rovers. Given physics and present-day technology, this will remain so for the forseeable future.

Unlike the manned space program, robots are actually exploring the solar system. And they're doing it cheaply and reliably, without risking human lives. Meanwhile, the shuttle and space station consume an ever-increasing majority of NASA's budget, often at the expense of highly worthwhile robotic missions, and they produce hardly anything in return.

Actually, I take that back. The shuttle *does* produce something: a stream of dead astronauts who can be used to name planetary features discovered by the robotic missions.

With all the advances in space flight and technology it amazed me, in a recent space shuttle flight, an astronaut was gluing tiles in space for the shuttle re-entry. Using glue...??? Give me a break. The flight program is now given odds as to success or failure. The latest given was 100 to 1 in favor of a successful flight.

The shuttle originally was designed as a small fighter jet sized return capsule. then it was decided to make a 1/2 ton truck out of it. Following was making it into a intergalactic freight train.
What is sad is its entire computer flight system is so antiquated kids laptops make it seem obsolete. And its systems are so redundant, to prevent failures, it became more bloated.
then pork began to work its magic, and funds were diverted all over for testing this and that.
Now the basics of this ship are sound... Make a 1/8 model of this for recovery of crews and some equipment. house it in a sealed nose cone. leave All the Metal in orbit for reuse, including using enough fuel to bring the boster tanks along.
Make Couplers to hook the booster tanks together, for storage, or future use.
Nasa is suffering from oversafety disease. Any pilot or crewman killed will have 20 waiting for the next ride, they all know and accept the risks. the original premise should have been implemented as drawn

Hummm....you'd think they'd learn their lesson by now. Stand your ground! "NO" is a word we all need to use more often...when it comes to the potential waste of human life. We all need to learn to say “NO”. We need to say it loud and often to our current governmental administration mismanagements and bureaucracies!

I'm a 34 year space kid raised in Nassau Bay, Texas who now lives in California. I admire the community of Clear Lake who ultimately support NASA.

Our need to please an overly controlling political body has left us forgetting the true mission of NASA. To advance and communicate scientific knowledge and understanding of the earth, the solar system, and the universe.
To advance human exploration, use, and development of space.
To research, develop, verify, and transfer advanced aeronautics and space technologies.

I'm happy to read someone hasn't lost this focus even at the expense of one's job.