"US space industry is like the collapse of an eco-system"; "Minot AFB Investigation, meet FOIA"

[bananas]

http://hobbyspace.com/nucleus/?itemid=19842

Notes: Space Access'10: Fri. - Morning session - Part 3

Jeff Greason - XCOR Aerospace

- DC-X convinced him to get into the rocket business
- past 12 years not the most financially rewarding of his life but no regrets
- US space industry is like the collapse of an eco-system
- Retreating faster than the enemy can advance

<snip>

http://www.armscontrolwonk.com/2693/minot-afb-investigation-meet-foia

Minot AFB Investigation, meet FOIA
posted Friday April 9, 2010 under nuclear-weapons by jane

Remember that incident a few years ago at Minot Air Force Base, with nuclear warheads being transported by accident? Of course we do… discussed all over ACW (link, link and link).

The Air Force conducted the Commander Directed Report of Investigation, (prepared by Maj, Gen. Douglas Raaberg), looking into what happened and who was responsible. The report was not publicly available, but hey, that’s what FOIA is for. After a two year wait, and almost forgetting about it, I got a package in the mail yesterday. Cool. Somewhat redacted, but still cool.

A Series of Mistakes

First, there was a scheduling mistake. Basically, someone updated the real schedule which details the missile pylons to be transported, but that update never made it into the hands of people doing the work, who mostly use “working slides” (power point printouts? cliff notes??) rather than the official and more complicated schedule to guide their tasks. So, they moved two missile pylons listed on the old schedule, one of which was armed with nuclear warheads. This was only the first mistake. There were at least three other points at which the mix up should have been identified.

<snip>

[HillbillyBob]

1. I ask again , where are those bombs now?

Why did every crew member die 'accidentally' within about 1 month?
Was there only one? at the time I heard about this it was stated there were several at any rate. Who was the track back, in nukes there are always several layers so this kind of thing does not happen.

[Wilms]

2. Four airmen involved are dead.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1814496