NASA has established five-member board to investigate the April 28, 2010, launch mishap involving one of its scientific balloons at the Alice Springs Balloon Launching Center, near the town of Alice Springs, Australia.The board will travel to the accident site this weekend. Members will spend several days interviewing witnesses and collecting and reviewing data and evidence, then return to the United States to complete their report.
"We want to apply the full complement of NASA's expertise and resources to understand the cause of the accident and what needs to be done to improve the safety of our balloon launch operation," said Michael Weiss, chairman of the mishap investigation board. "We will gather as much information as we can and bring it back with us for further review. We will take as much time as is necessary to sift through all the documents, videos, photographs and witness statements, and conduct a thorough, thoughtful analysis."
The purpose of the investigation is to determine what caused the accident and identify corrective actions necessary to ensure public safety during future launch operations. The investigating board will gather information, analyze facts, identify causes and contributing factors, and recommend ways to prevent a similar accident in the future. The board also will review the adequacy of prelaunch planning operations, launch procedures and safety accommodations for launch spectators, and provide recommendations and lessons learned to be incorporated into a corrective action plan.
Support equipment and documentation related to the launch operation and the ensuing accident have been impounded for the investigation. NASA has said it will not launch another scientific balloon until it understands the failure at Alice Springs, identifies and implements corrective actions, and is confident that it can assure the safety of NASA employees and the public.
The balloon was attempting to launch the Nuclear Compton Telescope, or NCT, a $2-million gamma-ray telescope from the University of California in Berkeley. The payload was designed to study astrophysical sources of nuclear line emission with high spectral and spatial resolution. When the balloon was released, its payload dragged the ground for about 150 yards, hitting a fence and a sport utility vehicle. No injuries were reported.
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