Washington, DC – National Space Society Executive Director Brian Chase
issued the following statement following today’s release of the final report
of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB):
“The National Space Society urges NASA to embrace the recommendations of the
CAIB and work diligently to fundamentally reform its decision-making
processes and safety organizations so that we can safely return the Space
Shuttle fleet to service.
“However, in order for NASA to fully implement the CAIB recommendations and
continue the exploration of space, the agency will need appropriate funding
to accomplish those tasks. The White House and the U.S. Congress must
accept their share of responsibility for the future of our nation’s space
exploration efforts and provide the necessary leadership.
“Perhaps most importantly, NASA and our nation’s leaders need to take this
opportunity to foster development of new space transportation systems and
renew a long-term commitment to human space exploration. We are encouraged
that the CAIB unanimously recognizes in the report that our “future human
space efforts must include human presence in Earth orbit, and eventually
beyond.”
“We are a nation of explorers, and a bold new vision of the exploration of
space will be welcomed by the American public and our international
partners. No society has ever gone wrong opening up the frontier, and we
shouldn’t stop now.”
The National Space Society is an independent, international, educational,
grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to the creation of a spacefaring
civilization. The NSS has more than 22,000 members and 50 chapters around
the world. Founded in 1974 by Wernher von Braun, NSS is widely acknowledged
as the preeminent citizen’s voice on space.
