European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 17, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday March 17, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 3enger inquiry causing rifts at Nasa some bitter Over publication of memos by Paul Recer a aerospace writer space Center Houston the investigation into the explosion of the shuttle challenger has caused splintering and mistrust within Nasa and top officials say these wounds must be healed before the space Agency can return to the close teamwork that was key to its past Success. Related Story Page 7. Rifts have developed within what some officials Call the Nasa family As investigators publicly track the cause of the Jan. 28 explosion that destroyed the space shuttle challenger and killed its seven Crew members. The estrangement entered last week on memos in which chief astronaut John Young accused Nasa management of letting launch schedule pressures Compromise Crew safety. The documents had been taken from depart mental files and published in newspapers across the coun try. Engineering management at the Johnson space Center Here admitted that they have been Hurt and puzzled by the astronaut memos and say they feel an estrangement to Ward astronauts who have been colleagues for decades. At the same time some members of the astronaut corps Are dismayed because they believe the memos Are being misinterpreted leaving the mistaken impression that the astronauts have the wagons circled and they re fighting off the rest of the bad Guys in  some in Nasa management feel a presidential com Mission investigating the challenger Accident has need Lessly damaged reputations while on what Nasa adminis Trator designate James Fletcher has called a Witch  communications Between the Nasa elements some officials admit has broken Down except at the lowest working level. Managers at Johnson report problems in getting data for the investigation from the Marshall space flight Center in Alabama and astronauts at Johnson claim they never were informed of problems with rocket engines that were developed at Marshall. And invariably the Nasa managers at Johnson mar shall and Kennedy space Center in Florida return to the theme that Many of the problems in communication Are the fault of the Media. Some have flatly refused to talk to reporters since the challenger Accident occurred. Chief astronaut John Young has declined interviews but his Deputy astronaut Paul Weitz said in an interview that Young is distressed that his memos have been published and is worried that they will damage astronaut office communications with Nasa management. The underlying theme of Many of the articles in the press about John s memos is that the astronauts have the wagons circled and they re fighting off the rest of the bad or Guys in Nasa said Weitz. The last thing we need i want is a polarization. The astronaut office is part of the Nasa organization and  Weitz said Young wrote the memos to emphasize Astro naut concerns Over engineering problems that had been thoroughly discussed in committees Only to have manage ment Rule against the astronaut position. I m sure in any organization there Are policy decisions made with which you Don t agree and some of them you Are willing to accept and some of them you think you can the underlying theme of Many of the articles in the press about John s memos is that the astronauts have the wagons circled and they re fighting off the rest of the bad Guys in Nasa/7 astronaut Paul Weitz live with but i still think you Are wrong and i m going to continue to make my Case said Weitz. I know that is the spirit in which John wrote those  publishing of the memos said Weitz has created the danger of alienating the astronauts from Nasa manage ment who make final decisions about spacecraft. Put yourself in a person s place in management and he opens up the paper at breakfast and Here s an article that infers that the astronauts Don t Trust a Damn thing that Nasa does said Weitz. The Normal human re action is who do they think these Guys Are talking to who do they think got them to where they Are " and yet Weitz admitted that in the astronaut corps a lot of people say i Don t Trust those bastards any More. What they Are really saying is. We be got a system that if it functions properly will do the right thing and it did t do  Eugene f. Kranz director of Mission operations said he and other managers Are puzzled about the Young memos. He said that All of the issues raised by Young had been discussed in open forums and that an effective use of the system could have resulted in changes without such Strong views being expressed in Public. I can t speculate on the purpose of the memos said Kranz but he admitted that he has not contacted Young to discuss the memorandums. Their offices Are less than 100 Yards apart and they be known each other for 25 years. We Don t communicate As effectively As we should Kranz conceded. Jesse Moore the new director of the Johnson space Center said in an interview he was unaware of the Young memos until they were published in the paper. I thought that they astronauts had a role in the decision making process. But apparently there is some feeling that they have not Moore said in an interview. He said Nasa has a system to review flight safety con Cerns but whether or not John is aware of the specific programs to address problem you la have to ask  the Young memos have raised sufficient concern that . Rep. Bill Nelson d-fla., announced last week that he intends to hold congressional hearings on the issues raised by Young and will hear from him and other Astro nauts. At the Kennedy space Center director Richard g. Smith said in an interview that Nasa Felt pressure to maintain a launch schedule but he attributed the pressure to the Media. Every time there was a delay Smith said in an inter View with the Washington Post the press would say look there s another delay. Here s a Bunch of idiots who can t even handle a launch schedule you think that does t have an Impact if you think it does to you re stupid he added. Smith accused the presidential commission investigating the challenger Accident of running a great risk of need Lessly damaging the reputation of people companies an the  he said there could be Long term damage that cannot be repaired and said that a lot of people May resign from Nasa because they Are fed up with the battering the Agency is taking. Later said the Post Smith asked that comments not be published noting i May get fired for this  engineers and astronauts continue to express irritation and concern about what is perceived As poor communication Between key Nasa centers such As Johnson and Marshall. Marshall engineers have been under scrutiny since the commission zeroed in on a solid fuel rocket engine failure As a key Factor in the challenger explosion. The rocket engines were managed by the Marshall Center. Some Johnson officials who asked not to be named said it has become very difficult to work with the Marshall Center. Felix Loera plants the Flag at the great peace March Camp on the desert in Barstow Calif. Members of the failed March began folding up their tents and anti nuclear arms outpost up photo heading Home saturday but about 400 hikers said they would continue under a different Banner. A new organization great peace March inc., was announced at the disintegrating Camp after pro peace founder David Mixner tearfully acknowledged Friday that his plan for an across the nation anti nuclear weapons March had died. Pro peace failed to raise $100,000 it said was needed by Friday to get the marchers across the Mojave desert to Las vegas