NASA Releases Report About Australia Balloon Mishap
WASHINGTON -- A NASA panel that investigated the unsuccessful April 28 launch of a scientific balloon from Alice Springs, Australia, has released its report.NASA was attempting to launch the balloon carrying a gamma-ray telescope belonging to the University of California at Berkeley. The Nuclear Compton Telescope, which was partially destroyed in the accident, was designed to look for distant galaxies from a vantage point high in Earth's upper atmosphere.
The scientific payload inadvertently separated from a mobile crane
being used for the launch, and it was dragged approximately 150 yards
by the airborne balloon. Spectators narrowly escaped injury when the
payload hit an airport fence and a car.
NASA's Mishap Investigation Board determined weather conditions were
acceptable for launch, and there were no technical problems with the
vehicle or the payload.
The board was led by Michael L. Weiss of NASA's Goddard Space Flight
Center in Greenbelt, Md. The board's report listed 25 proximate,
intermediate and root causes related to insufficient risk analysis,
contingency planning, personnel training, technical knowledge,
government oversight and public safety accommodations.
"There is no question in our minds that balloon launches are fragile
processes," Weiss said. "The mishap board reviewed a large volume of
information about the accident and conducted numerous interviews with
eyewitnesses. But in the course of our investigation, we found
surprisingly few documented procedures for balloon launches. No one
considered the launch phase to be a potential hazard."
The purpose of the investigation was to discover what caused the
mishap and provide recommendations to help prevent similar future
mishaps. The board listed 44 recommendations regarding the need for
better communication; more robust range and ground safety plans and
procedures; and better understanding of potentially unsafe conditions
that can lead to accidents.
Immediately after the accident in Australia, launch operations at all
of NASA's balloon sites were suspended. NASA's Balloon Program Office
will resume launches once it has implemented and verified new
procedures to safeguard launch crews and the public.
"We have learned a lot from this incident, and we'll have a better
balloon program because of it," said Rob Strain, Goddard Space Flight
Center director.
The Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine, Texas, conducts
balloon launches for NASA under contract to the Balloon Program
Office. The program office is based at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility
in Virginia, which is managed by Goddard.
To download the report, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/goddard
For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov
Source: NASA
