http://www.caib.us/news/press_releases/pr030315.html<br /><br /><br />Date: March 15, 2003<br />Contact: Laura Brown, 281-283-7565 or 281-467-8657<br />Contact: Lt. Col Woody Woodyard, 281-283-7520 or 713-301-2244<br /><br />Columbia Accident Investigation Board Holds Second Public Hearing<br /><br />The Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) will hold public hearings <br />on Monday, March 17 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. CST (2 p.m. to 5 p.m. EST) and <br />Tuesday, March 18, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. CST (10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST) at the <br />Hilton Houston Clear Lake, 3000 NASA Road One, Houston, Texas.<br /><br />The board's chairman, retired Navy Admiral Harold W. "Hal" Gehman Jr., and <br />other board members will hear from individuals who have been asked to <br />appear before the board. Experts in reentry debris, aerodynamics and <br />thermodynamics will present brief statements and answer questions from <br />the board during the hearing.<br /><br />The speakers include: Dr. William Ailor, Director, Center for Orbital <br />and Reentry Debris Studies, The Aerospace Corporation; Robert "Doug" White, <br />Director, Operational Requirements, United Space Alliance; Paul Hill, <br />Flight Director, Space Shuttle and International Space Station, NASA; <br />Stephen Labbe, Chief, Applied Aeroscience and Computational Fluid <br />Dynamics Branch, NASA; Christopher Madden, Deputy Chief, Thermal Design <br />Branch, NASA; Jose Caram, Aerospace Engineer, Aeroscience and Flight <br />Mechanics Division, NASA; Dr. John Bertin, Professor of Aeronautics, <br />United States Air Force Academy.<br /><br />CBS Television is the pool for the hearing. They will broadcast on Mon., <br />1130 - 1630 CST and Tues., 0830 - 1530 CST at AM 5 - Transponder 5i <br />(digital), uplink freq. - 14170.375h, d/link freq. - 11870v, data - <br />5.500000, symbol - 3.978723, fec - 3/4. For questions on these coordinates <br />please Contact Marty Gill, CBS South Editor at 212-975-4114 or Rachel <br />Matza, KU Satellite Coordinator at 212-975-3844 (11a.m. to 7 p.m.)<br /><br /><br />The following are brief biographies of the hearing speakers:<br /><br /><br />MONDAY March 17, 2003 12 noon to 4 p.m.<br /><br />Dr. William H. Ailor<br />Director, Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies<br />The Aerospace Corporation<br />Dr. Ailor received a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from Purdue University <br />and joined the Aerospace Corporation in 1974. He spent 15 years in the <br />flight mechanics and performance analysis areas, conducting analyses on <br />spacecraft reentry and reentry breakup. He received a National Aeronautics <br />and Space Administration Group Achievement Award in 1992 for advancing <br />understanding of the reentry breakup characteristics of the Space Shuttle <br />External Tank. He was appointed to his current position when the Center was<br />established in June 1997 to study hazards associated with space debris and <br />how objects reenter Earth's atmosphere. He served as chair of the ad-hoc <br />Reentry Subpanel of the Interagency Nuclear Safety Review Panel, which <br />provides independent assessments to the White House on the safety of space <br />missions containing radioactive materials. Missions examined under his <br />chairmanship include Galileo, Ulysses, Mars Pathfinder, Cassini and Mars <br />Exploration Rover. The Aerospace Corporation, based in El Segundo, CA, is<br />an independent, nonprofit company that provides objective technical <br />analyses and assessments for national security space programs<br />and selected civil and commercial space programs in the national interest.<br /><br />R. Douglas White<br />Director for Operations Requirements, Orbiter Element Department<br />United Space Alliance<br />Mr. White began work on the space shuttle program in 1979 as an employee <br />for Rockwell International in Downey, California. Mr. White has held <br />increasingly responsible positions within the space shuttle program <br />focusing on the areas of turnaround test requirements, engineering <br />flight support, anomaly resolution, and Orbiter certification of flight <br />readiness preparation. Mr. White joined United Space Alliance as a <br />director in 1996. Mr. White holds a BS and MS in physics from UCLA.<br /><br />Mr. Paul S. Hill<br />NASA Space Shuttle and International Space Station Flight Director<br />Mr. Hill received his Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science degrees <br />in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M University in 1984 and 1985, <br />respectively. For the past several years, he has been the NASA Space Shuttle <br />and International Space Station Flight Director leading the flight control <br />team for flight preparation and execution from Mission Control and the <br />Flight Director for 21 Shuttle and ISS missions. Prior to his current <br />position, Mr. Hill was the Space Station and Space Shuttle operations <br />engineer, Joint Operations Panel Chairman. He also served as a Captain in <br />the United States Air Force.<br /><br /><br />TUESDAY March 18, 2003 9 a.m. to 12 noon<br /><br />Mr. Joe Caram is an aerospace engineer employed at the NASA Johnson Space <br />Center since 1989 working in the Aeroscience and Flight Mechanics Division <br />of the Engineering Directorate. He received his Bachelor of Science and <br />Masters of Science degrees from Texas A&M University in 1986 and 1989, <br />respectively. Until recently, he was serving as chief engineer for the <br />feasibility studies of the Orbital Space Plane on Expendable Launch Vehicles <br />and X-38 Project, Aeroscience and Flight Dynamics, Division Chief Engineer / <br />Flight Dynamics Lead. Previous positions at NASA include: Aeroscience <br />Branch engineer responsible for development and analysis of <br />aerothermodynamic environments of various configurations including the <br />Space Shuttle Orbiter. In that position, Mr. Caram was responsible for <br />developing math models of the shock-shock interaction heating to the wing <br />leading edge of the Orbiter and led a team investigating Orbiter early/<br />asymmetric hypersonic boundary layer transition. Other activities during <br />the 1991 to 1995 timeframe included being aerothermodynamics team lead in <br />support of advanced projects such as Assured Crew Return Vehicle, First <br />Lunar Outpost, Single Launch Core Station, and Liquid FlyBack Booster. Mr. <br />Caram is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and <br />Astronautics and author or co-author of 20 publications including AIAA <br />conference papers and journal articles and Symposia.<br /><br />Mr. Christopher B. Madden is a 1987 graduate of the University of Texas at <br />Austin with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aerospace, Aeronautics and <br />Astronautics. He completed his Master of Mechanical Engineering at the <br />University of Houston in 1993. He has been employed by NASA/Johnson Space <br />Center since 1984 where he began as a cooperative student in the Thermal<br />Analysis Section. Mr. Madden is currently serving as the Deputy Chief of <br />the Thermal Design Branch. His previous duties included performing thermal <br />analysis of reentry spacecraft thermal protection systems including the <br />Space Shuttle and other advanced spacecraft; investigation of Space Shuttle <br />thermal anomalies; design and planning of arc-jet tests in support of <br />thermal protection system design and analysis; conducting simulations of <br />orbital debris reentry, and lead engineer for the X-38 structures team<br />including the composite aeroshell and thermal protection system.<br /><br />Mr. Steven G. Labbe is a 1984 graduate of the University of Cincinnati <br />with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aerospace Engineering. He has been <br />employed by NASA since 1981, beginning as a cooperative education student <br />at the Lewis (now Glenn) Research Center. He transferred to the Johnson <br />Space Center as a coop and accepted a full-time position in 1984. He <br />currently serves as the Chief of the Applied Aeroscience and Computational <br />Fluid Dynamics Branch. Previous positions at NASA include: Aeroscience <br />Branch Engineer responsible for the development and analysis of Shuttle <br />aerodynamic characteristics; Professional Development Program (PDP) <br />participation via rotational assignment at NASA Ames Research Center in <br />the Applied CFD Analysis Branch; Space Shuttle Ascent Aerodynamic Sub <br />System Manager; Aeroscience Branch Aerodynamics Group Leader; X-38 <br />Project, Aeroscience and Flight Mechanics, Division Chief Engineer/Flight <br />Dynamics Team Lead; X-38 Aerodynamics Lead; and Deputy Chief, Applied<br />Aeroscience & CFD Branch.<br /><br />Dr. John J. Bertin<br />Professor of Aeronautics<br />United States Air Force Academy<br />Dr. Bertin holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Rice <br />University. Prior to his current position, he was in the Department of <br />Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Texas <br />at Austin, served four years as an Aerospace Technologist at NASA's Manned <br />Spacecraft Center (now known as the Johnson Space Center,) and in various <br />roles at the Sandia National Laboratories. He is author of Aerodynamics <br />for Engineers and co-author of Col. M.L. Smith Hypersonic <br />Aerothermodynamics, published as part of the AIAA Education Series. He is <br />a fellow of the AIAA, a Professional Engineer in the state of Texas, and <br />has received numerous awards and honors, including the AIAA Thermophysics <br />Award in 1997.