by James N.
I was chief of flight safety for the external
tank project in New Orleans after the Space Shuttle Challenger accident. Our
group reviewed all equipment design changes to the build equipment. We also re-accomplished
the review and hazard assessment for the back to flight of STS-26. Our company
was one of the first to complete the return-to-flight hazard assessment and to
provide a logic tree of possible failure modes on the external tank. It was a
long and tedious effort, but it gave us all a sense of great satisfaction. We
worked under the leadership of Safety Manager Earl McNail.
