Who at NASA was responsible of the Columbia disaster? What punishment did he/she have?

Question

But there was a hole in the wing. They were 16 days in space. It was filmed but the people in charge said it was not a problem. So.. everybody went "oops, we were wrong" after that, and that was it???

Answer 1

"Management". No one name has surfaced, to my knowledge. All that is known is that there was a question raised about the possibility of damage to the wing. Management elected to not examine the area, for many reasons. So the crew was never aware of the hole that was there, and we know the results.

   I personally do believe someone is to blame. Sure, it would have been expensive, and difficult. But had Columbia been looked at while still in space, the crew could have taken actions to maximize how long they could stay in space. This would have bought time for NASA and other agencies to come up with some plan to bring the crew down, even if we lost the shuttle. But no one will be held accountable for this loss.

  As a note, I have always thought that the biggest problem with our manned space program is the lack of any apparant backup plan. A second shuttle is almost never in position to be launched on short notice as a rescue ship. We don't have any other vehicles that can lift up to a disabled shuttle ad retrieve the crews. And unfortunately I don't antiicpate this changing anytime soon. So, we'll continue to pay for our exploration with human life as well as with money. Even at that cost, I ultimately think its worthwhile. I just hope that we don't have to pay again for a long, long time.

Answer 2

You make it sound as though a crime was committed, which was not the case.  The Columbia disaster, like the earlier Challenger tragedy, was the result of several small problems occurring, the cumulative outcome of which could not have been foreseen.

Nobody was punished because nobody was to blame.