NASA Chief to Visit Louisiana Plant
Posted on: Thursday, 20 February 2003, 06:00 CST
ASSOCIATED PRESS -- NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe was to visit the Michoud Assembly Facility in eastern New Orleans on Thursday, showing his support to a factory that has been a focus of the investigation into the Columbia space shuttle disaster.
Investigators have said a possible cause of the Feb. 1 accident was insulation foam from Columbia's external tank striking the shuttle's left wing during liftoff. The tank was assembled about two years ago at Michoud.
O'Keefe was expected to visit the facility on Thursday as a "side visit" before traveling about 45 miles to the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, agency spokesman Robert Mirelson said.
At Michoud, O'Keefe will "thank people for the good work they've been doing supporting the investigation, as well as their normal duties," Mirelson said.
NASA investigators arrived at Michoud soon after Columbia's destruction and moved more than 200 workers out of their normal areas, where tanks are prepared for foam application and the foam is sprayed onto them.
The board investigating the disaster, headed by retired Adm. Harold Gehman Jr., allowed about 120 workers to return to their work areas earlier this week.
The board has yet to allow about 100 workers to return to the area where the foam is applied, said Marion LaNasa, a spokesman for Lockheed Martin, the company contracted to assemble the tanks.
The board toured Michoud on Saturday to learn about how the tanks are put together. Gehman said board members would return within a week to collect data.
At Stennis, NASA tests propulsion rockets, including the main engines used on space shuttles. O'Keefe was expected to address Stennis workers about the future of the space industry.
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On the Net:
Stennis Space Center:
Michoud Assembly Center:
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/michoud
Copyright © 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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