Boeing

A senior investigation board has been convened by the Boeing Company to investigate the May 4 failure of a Delta III rocket to place the Hughes-built Orion 3 satellite into proper orbit. Dr. Russell Reck, director of Engineering Technology, Boeing Expendable Launch Systems was immediately appointed investigation Chairman, and has since announced the following appointments to that board.

The board includes: Bill Ezell, Launch Vehicle Consultant, Hughes Launch Services, and former Rocketdyne Vice President; Ted Smith, Launch Vehicle Consultant, Hughes Launch Services; Dr. Jack Murphy, Chairman, Independent Review Team, Hughes Space and Communications Company; Donald Kutyna, Vice President Space Technology, Loral Space and Communications; Tom McGunigal, Orion 3 Program Manager, Loral Orion; William Wang, ICO Consultant, The Aerospace Corporation; John Silverstein, former General Dynamics Program Director, Titan Centaur Program; Patrick Martin, Aerospace Engineer, FAA Commercial Space Transportation; Michael P. Hallet, Manager-West Coast Office, NASA Kennedy Space Center; Chuck Ordahl, former Boeing Vice President-General Manager, Advanced Space Systems; Don Magill, former McDonnell Douglas Corporation Vice President, Space Products; R. J. (Rick) Arvesen, Boeing Director of Engineering, Delta II and III Programs; Daniel J. Collins, Director, Boeing Delta IV Program Integration; and Thomas Kmiec, RL10 Chief Engineer and Engineering Manager, Pratt & Whitney. The U.S. Air Force will also be represented on the board.

"In addition, the investigation board is working on a daily basis with the Pratt & Whitney team and sharing available information with our counterparts at Lockheed Martin," said Dr. Russell Reck.

"The initial data review points to the second-stage engine system," Reck added. "We are working to determine why the turbo machinery stopped suddenly. We still have more data to review before we can determine the root cause as there are numerous factors which might have caused the second-stage engine to stop. The team will look at each of them thoroughly."

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