[Indy Pendance]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former NASA safety official wrote to President Bush last year to warn of "another catastrophic space shuttle accident," but Bush did not see the letter and the writer's plea was rejected, the White House said on Monday.

Columbia broke up on Saturday as it began to reenter the atmosphere over Texas, shortly before it was to land.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Bush had not seen the letter written to him on Aug. 25, 2002, by former NASA safety engineer Don Nelson expressing concerns over shuttle safety. "Your intervention is required to prevent another catastrophic space shuttle accident," he said.

He cited specific safety incidents including a 2000 inspection of Columbia which found 3,500 wiring defects, as well as charges such as a July 2002 inspector general's report that the shuttle safety program was not properly managed.

"The lives of our astronauts and the future of our space program must not be ignored," he said. He urged Bush to limit the size of the shuttle's crew to four until an escape pod was built.

Such a pod would not have saved Columbia's astronauts, experts have said.

White House science adviser John Marburger wrote back to Nelson on Dec. 4, saying his office had discussed the concerns with NASA officials. "NASA places a high priority on safety and has instituted a program of developing and implementing safety upgrades to reduce the risk to space shuttle crews," he said.

"Based on these discussions I do not think that it is appropriate for the president to issue a moratorium on space shuttle launches at this time." Fleischer said on Sunday that an escape pod would not have saved Columbia's astronauts.

Bush, who is to attend a memorial for the astronauts at the Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston on Tuesday, received a briefing on Monday from NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe on the investigation into the Columbia disaster and the two spoke of their determination to return to space.

"While we grieve for these astronauts, the cause for which they died will continue. America's journey into space will go on," Bush said in a speech to employees at the National Institutes of Health.

As he briefed the president O'Keefe said he intended "to get back into space as soon as possible with all safety issues having been fully, fully explored," Fleischer said.

Bush, who is to attend a memorial service in Houston on Tuesday for the shuttle crew, asked about the well-being of the astronauts' families and NASA morale, and looked ahead to an eventual resumption of flights, Fleischer said.

"The president talked about the status of the next crews and the morale of the next crew and how they are ready to go as soon as they are able to go back into space." He said, however, Bush did not suggest a timetable for the investigation. Shuttle flights have been grounded following Saturday's accident.

Bush proposed a 22 percent increase on Monday for the space shuttle program in his fiscal 2004 federal budget request to Congress, which was prepared before the Columbia disaster. He requested $3.9 billion for the program, compared with $3.2 billion in 2003.

Administration officials left the door open to further increases if sought by Congress. They said it was too early to consider whether to replace the lost shuttle -- one of four in the program, or to tackle other issues such as developing a successor spacecraft.

Columbia's loss has prompted calls for more spending to upgrade the aging shuttle fleet and develop a new space plane.

In addition to the space shuttle funding increase, the proposed total budget for NASA was slated for a smaller increase, rising $469 million to $15.47 billion, reflecting one-time expenses in 2003 that would not be repeated, Fleischer said.

[cardinal4]

1995? Why didnt Clinton fix it then?

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

Oh hear we go the new DNC mantra... McCoughUp is probably working the phones, scheduling Dems to spin this on CNN, as we speak. How low can they go?

[aristeides]

FYI.

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

Then tomorrow the Dems will be screaming at how much money President Bush promised NASA.

[Trust but Verify]

Can Bush Knew be far behind?

[The Vast Right Wing]

What did Bush know and when did he know it?

[Puppage]

Here we go...WHAT DID BUSH, WHEN DID HE KNOW IT? My wife said this would be the RATS plan of attack as early as Saturday morning. She seems to have been right on. Is NOTHING sacred with this group?

[Puddleglum]

I'm tired of the media rhetoric that makes the huge leap from the highly general "the administration knew" to "the President knew." He has to trust his decision-makers and the advice of his experts. If the Columbia tragedy was a failure, then it's necessary to reevaluate the credentials of everyone who has been vested with authority in this area of the space program. But to suggest that any sound probable arguement of warning might have reached, much less persuaded "the President" beforehand is unrealistic at least and dishonest at most. We have to remember how many accolades and achievements were weighing the other side of the scale.

When does a voice in the wilderness become a chorus? Usually after the fact. Beforehand I'm sure the preponderance of evidence and opinion available to "the administration" (pick whichever one you like) was in support of the shuttle's safety. Unfortunate but true.

[onedoug]

"Faster. Cheaper. Better."

Ugh.

[Quix]

Dilldo yet again saves his own face and hide at the expense of others at great cost to the Nation.

[TLBSHOW]

Clinton new and for 7 years cut the NASA budget

Space Budget Cuts Produced...What? ( BILL CLINTON CUT MONEY FROM NASA FOR 7 YEARS IN A ROW)

space ^ | 3/13/2000 | Joe Dean

Posted on 02/02/2003 11:00 AM EST by TLBSHOW

[Steve_Seattle]

" . . . 2000 inspection which found 3,500 wiring defects . . ."

Yesterday someone from NASA - responding to a question about the aging fleet - talked about a major re-wiring job on Columbia in 2002, yet this story makes it sound that the re-wiring issues were not addressed.

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

My local news media (who is of course, feed by the national ones) was even first blaming NASA and now it's Bush tonight, in a twisted way.

Dan Blather tonight is leading towards this being 'the end' of the space shuttle.

The overall media atitude is beyond scarey.

[Steve_Seattle]

Who is Jose Garcia?

[k2blader]

Bump.

[Timesink]

I think any "safety whistleblower's" rants should be taken with a grain of salt, unless they have, at the very least, substantial circumstantial evidence of intentional wrongdoing. There's ALWAYS "more safety" that could be added in. If NASA spent $10 million, well, why not $100 million? If $100 million, why not a billion? If a billion, why not $10 billion? Etc ad infinitum. As a generic argument, it's completely meaningless.

[ruready4eternity]

AMazing . Im a Canadian and watching this all unfold again on Your President. Its Bush's fault that the shuttle blew up; Its Bush's fault the towers went down. Its Bush's fault for spending Billions on your militery which Clinton cut and comprimised . My American friends I have nerer seen such a heightened and lashing oout against this man Bush. He must be doing something right to have so many hate him. Thank God for this man who has once again restored the office of the Presidency and What it means to stand up in the face off all opposition. God can only help America because evil lives right in your own backyard. Destruction from within. No matter how powerful and blessed America is it is because God is helping you .

[ruready4eternity]

AMazing . Im a Canadian and watching this all unfold again on Your President. Its Bush's fault that the shuttle blew up; Its Bush's fault the towers went down. Its Bush's fault for spending Billions on your militery which Clinton cut and comprimised . My American friends I have nerer seen such a heightened and lashing oout against this man Bush. He must be doing something right to have so many hate him. Thank God for this man who has once again restored the office of the Presidency and What it means to stand up in the face off all opposition. God can only help America because evil lives right in your own backyard. Destruction from within. No matter how powerful and blessed America is it is because God is helping you .

[an amused spectator]

Randall Mikkelsen has a long history of posting pro-Democrat, anti-Republican screeds as a Reuters "correspondent":

White House Says House Impeachment Process Unfair

By Randall Mikkelsen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House denounced the U.S. House of Representatives impeachment inquiry debate Thursday as contaminated with politics, but also pledged to cooperate in the probe.

``This process and the debate as part of it has been injected with politics,'' White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said as the House neared what was regarded as a certain vote to approve a Republican plan for open-ended impeachment inquiry of President Clinton...

[He Rides A White Horse]

The Honorable Bill Clinton

Sorry, lost me already.