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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

NASA inspector accused of ignoring safety violations

Behold, the face of evil - NASA General Inspector Richard Cobb

A federal agency is investigating allegations that the inspector general for the US space agency ignored safety violations in the space shuttle program and retaliated against whistle blowers, a US newspaper reported on Friday.


The probe, based on numerous complaints from space agency employees and former employees, is examining accusations that NASA Inspector General Robert Cobb undermined safety efforts and stifled or ignored concerns about a malfunctioning self-destruct procedure during a 2002 space shuttle launch, the Washington Post reported.

He allegedly squelched attempts to learn why funding to improve deteriorating launch pads and other shuttle infrastructure was canceled prior to the February 2003 Columbia disaster, the paper reported, citing documents submitted to investigators and interviews with current and former NASA employees.

Cobb was also accused of allegedly disregarding his mandate to prevent waste and fraud, punishing staff members who raised questions and suppressing internal investigations of wrongdoing at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Post wrote.

Cobb was appointed to his post at NASA by President George W. Bush in 2002 after serving as an ethics lawyer for a year in the office of the White House General Counsel, the paper said.

Cobb told the Post he would "cooperate fully" with the investigation but would not discuss the allegations. "I am proud of, stand behind and am accountable for the work of the IG (Inspector General)," he said.

Those who worked under Cobb alleged that he had halted investigations, suppressed audits and shaped his office's efforts "to avoid embarrassing the agency or its leadership," the paper wrote.

The investigation comes amid lingering concerns about the safety and utility of NASA's space shuttle flights, with critics charging the agency has mismanaged the shuttle program.

Full story here: www.physorg.com/news10513.html

Cobb's NASA Bio here: www.hq.nasa.gov/office/oig/hq/inspector_general.html

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I hate, I mean really hate dudes like this...

I've dealt with the type and sleep better after they were ..."adjusted", and so pleased another bully is shoved back.

#Thumbsdown#

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

NASA's Inspector General Probed

Failure to Investigate Safety Violations Is Among the Charges

From the Washington Post:

Friday, February 3, 2006; Page A01

An FBI-led watchdog agency has opened an investigation into multiple complaints accusing NASA Inspector General Robert W. Cobb of failing to investigate safety violations and retaliating against whistle-blowers. Most of the complaints were filed by current and former employees of his own office.

Written complaints and supporting documents from at least 16 people have been given to investigators. They allege that Cobb, appointed by President Bush in 2002, suppressed investigations of wrongdoing within NASA, and abused and penalized his own investigators when they persisted in raising concerns.

The complaints are being reviewed by the Integrity Committee of the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency. The complaints describe efforts by Cobb to shut down or ignore investigations on issues such as a malfunctioning self-destruct procedure during a space shuttle launch at the Kennedy Space Center, and the theft of an estimated $1.9 billion worth of data on rocket engines from NASA computers.

The Integrity Committee is charged with investigating serious misconduct by inspectors general or their senior staff. It began notifying individual petitioners in mid-December that it intended to undertake an "administrative review" of their complaints.

Cobb is among four of 11 inspectors general appointed by Bush who previously worked in the White House, and one of nine with no audit experience.

How it started -

The complaints against Cobb began to surface early last year, according to NASA research pilot Robert Rivers, when Nelson's office was contacted regarding allegations of retaliation against Rivers in a dispute over aircraft safety at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. In early 2003, Rivers had refused to fly Langley's modified Boeing 757 research jet, saying NASA management had not addressed safety concerns that he and other pilots had raised over the previous 18 months. He was reassigned and eventually grounded. On Feb. 22, 2005, Cobb notified Rivers he was closing the IG's investigation without taking action.

Many described Cobb as abusive to subordinates and dismissive of their abilities. "He would cut people off, get up and leave during meetings," said Dan Samoviski, who retired in 2004 as deputy IG director for audits at NASA headquarters. "Personally, I just think he created a hostile work environment."

Dennis Coldren, the retired manager of space station and space shuttle audits, was one of several who described Cobb as a "bully," and several sources also said they believed Cobb was too friendly with then-NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe. They said Cobb suppressed audits, stopped investigations and otherwise edited IG activities to avoid embarrassing the agency or its leadership.

O'Keefe, now chancellor of Louisiana State University, acknowledged that Cobb would brief him on his cases, but said he had an "arm's length" relationship with Cobb and described him as "extremely professional."

Shuttle Endangerment -

One former member of the IG's staff described in documents a 2002 shuttle launch in which Air Force controllers at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station declared the range "red," ordering a shutdown, because the shuttle's backup command destruct system was not functioning.

The command destruct system is designed to stop the shuttle during initial liftoff by blowing off the orbiter's solid rocket boosters if spectators or bystanders are in danger. The maneuver can cause serious damage to the shuttle or even destroy it.

The controllers were overruled by the range commander -- an Air Force general -- and the launch took place, with NASA engineers unaware of the malfunction. The former IG staff member said in an interview that the Air Force passed the investigation to NASA's IG because it involved shuttle-related safety concerns, but that Cobb killed the probe in early 2005, saying, "Let the Air Force handle it."

In another safety investigation, Coldren said that just a few weeks before the February 2003 Columbia disaster, Cobb quashed efforts to inquire into the cancellation of funding to upgrade deteriorating gantries, launch pads and other shuttle infrastructure. "The shuttle program wanted it, somebody killed it, and I wanted to find out who it was," Coldren said. "Cobb said we were not entitled to that information."

Security Ignored -

In another complaint filed with the Integrity Committee, IG auditor Carroll Tom Hassell described how "a person in a South American country" over three days in late 2002 logged into the Marshall Space Flight Center's supposedly secure computer system, stole space shuttle data valued at $1.9 billion and shipped it to a third country. The complaint said Cobb's office refused to report the theft to the Commerce Department as an illegal transfer of intellectual property.

Although Hassell, who retired in 2003, and other IG complainants have left NASA, others have remained. Several employees, past and present, said they were marginalized for speaking out too loudly and too often

The full three page story here: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/02/AR2006020202721.html

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I often wonder...how this low caliber of person weasles in all apects our lives. There are everywhere!... #wha#

Great that the spotlight is shining on this dark corner at NASA and I'm not surprised that former NASA Administrator "O'Keefe the Incompetent" has a connection with this.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Griffin Lays Out NASA Position On Openness

Robert "Moose" Cobb, a former White House lawyer who was appointed NASA inspector general in 2002, was accused by current and former employees in a Feb. 3 story by The Washington Post that he had squashed NASA internal investigations.

An FBI-led watchdog agency is reported looking into multiple complaints against Cobb. Written complaints and supporting documents from at least 16 people have been given to investigators for the Integrity Committee of the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency.

The documents allege that Cobb, appointed by President George W. Bush in 2002, suppressed investigations of wrongdoing within NASA and abused and penalized his own investigators when they persisted in raising concerns.

The complaints describe efforts by Cobb to shut down or ignore investigations on issues such as a malfunctioning self-destruct procedure during a space shuttle launch and the theft of an estimated $1.9 billion worth of data on rocket engines from NASA computers.

"I want to make sure that NASA employees hear directly from me on how I view the issue of scientific openness and the role of public affairs within the agency," Griffin said in his statement.

"NASA has always been, is, and will continue to be committed to open scientific and technical inquiry and dialogue with the public. The basis for this principle is codified in the Space Act of 1958, which requires NASA to 'provide for the widest practicable and appropriate dissemination of information concerning its activities and the results thereof,'" Griffin continued.

More here: www.spacedaily.com/reports/Griffin_Lays_Out_NASA_Position_On_Openness.html