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For Immediate Release
CAIB PA 22-03

Date: April 21, 2003
Contact: Lt. Col Woody Woodyard, 281-283-7520 or 713-301-2244
Contact: Terry N. Williams or Patricia Brach, 281-283-7565

Columbia Accident Investigation Board Holds Press Briefing and Fifth
Public Hearing

Part 1 of 2

Houston - The Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) will hold
a press briefing on Tuesday, April 22 at 1 p.m. CDT (2 p.m. EDT) and
a public hearing on Wednesday, April 23 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CDT (10
a.m. to 6 p.m. EDT). Both events are at the Hilton NASA Clear Lake,
Houston, Texas. 

At the press briefing, Board Chairman Hal Gehman will be joined by a
board member from each of the CAIB's three working groups to provide
an update about the ongoing investigation. Members of the working
press with the appropriate credentials are welcome to attend.

On Wednesday, the Board's chairman, retired Navy Admiral Harold W.
"Hal" Gehman Jr., and other board members will hear from individuals
who have been asked to appear before the Board. Experts will discuss:
Trade-Offs Made Suring the Shuttle's Initial Design and Development
Period and How Issues Related to Managing Aging Aircraft May Relate
to the Shuttle Program.

The speakers include: Dr. Milton Silveira, Shuttle Program Chief
Engineer; George Jeffs, Rockwell Shuttle Program Manager; Aaron
Cohen, Orbiter Project Manager; Owen Morris, Shuttle Chief of
Integration; Dr. Jean Gebman, RAND Corporation; Col. Michael
Carpenter (USAF), Chief, Aging Aircraft Division, Wright-Patterson
Air Force Base, Chairman, Joint Council on Aging Aircraft and Diane
Vaughan, Professor, Department of Sociology, Boston College 

CNN is the pool for the hearing. They will broadcast on: Wednesday,
April 23, Bird: AMC-5, Transponder: 11-J (Digital), Symbol Rate:
3.9787, Downlink Frequency: 12059 vertical, Polarity: vertical,
Frequency/Code Rate: 14358.625 horizontal , Data Rate: 5.5, FEC
(Forward Error Correction): 3/4, 8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., CDT. Tracy
Sabo, Producer, CNN News is the pool coordinator. She can be reached
at: 214/747-1440 or contact CNN Newsbeam at 404/827-1094.

The following are brief biographies of the hearing's speakers:

Wednesday, April 23, 2003
9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Milton A Silveira is a Technical Advisor to the Program Director,
Missile Defense Agency in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Prior to retiring from NASA, he served as NASA's Chief Engineer in
Washington, D.C. Mr. Silveira joined the National Advisory Committee
for Aeronautics (NACA), Langley, Hampton, Virginia in 1951, seven
years before NACA merged into the newly created National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA). He worked on all of the Manned
Spacecraft Programs and the Mercury to Space Station. He was Chief of
Engineering during Space Shuttle studies and Deputy Project of the
Orbiter, with primary responsibilities in aerodynamics, heating,
thermal protection, trajectories abort and normal landing. Mr.
Silveira holds an honorary Doctorate from the University of Vermont,
a Masters of Science degree from University of Virginia and a
Bachelor of Science from the University of Vermont.

George W. Jeffs retired from Rockwell International Corporation where
he was President of the company's Aerospace and Energy Operations and
a corporate vice president. As co-founder and president of Corporate
Strategic Defense Center, he consulted for Rockwell, Boeing, NASA and
the Los Alamos National Laboratory. He was the former President of
North American Aviation Incorporated's North American Space Division
for both the Apollo and Shuttle Programs. He was also the Vice
President, Program Manager and Chief Engineer for the Apollo CSM
program. Mr. Jeffs received his Master of Science and Bachelor of
Science degrees in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of
Washington, Seattle. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of
Engineering.

Professor Aaron Cohen is a Professor Emeritus of Mechanical
Engineering. Formerly, he was appointed H.B. Zachry Professor of
Engineering at Texas A&M University, where he taught senior
mechanical engineering design. Prior to his retirement from NASA,
Professor Cohen was the Director of NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space
Center in Houston, Texas and held the position of Acting Deputy
Administrator of NASA for a year. Other positions held during his
tenure include: Center Director, Director of Research and
Engineering, Manager of the Command and Service Module in the Apollo
Space-craft Program Office and was named Space Shuttle Orbiter
Project Manager. Professor Cohen authored many articles for
scientific and technical journals and publications. He was presented
the Lawrence Hargrave Lecture at the International Aerospace
Congress. Professor Cohen received an Honorary Doctor of Engineering
from Stevens Institute of Technology, an Honorary Doctor of Humane
Letters from The University of Houston - Clear Lake, a Master of
Science degree in Applied Mathe-mat-ics from Stevens Institute of
Technology and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical
Engineering from Texas A&M University.

Owen G. Morris is the founder, CEO, and Chairman of Eagle Aerospace
Inc., which specialize in conceptual design of space vehicles and
program management consulting. Mr. Owens retired from NASA Langley
Field, Johnson Space Center after 32 years. During his tenure with
NASA, he spent 10 years in the Apollo Program as Chief Engineer of
the Lunar Module, Manager of the Lunar Module Project, and Manager of
the Apollo Spacecraft Program. He also was the Manager of System
Integration in the STS Program. 

 - Continued -

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