Bush orders dual investigations of shuttle disaster.(Chicago Tribune)

Byline: Jon Hilkevitch

CHICAGO _ Unlike the probe of the Challenger disaster 17 years ago, NASA will not be on its own to investigate what caused the destruction of the space shuttle Columbia, officials said Saturday.

Two investigations _ one led by an independent panel, the other coordinated by NASA management _ were ordered by the Bush administration within hours of the Columbia catastrophe.

The decision was reached after NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe conferred with Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, although officials said there was no evidence that terrorism, interference with radar or sabotage via cyberspace doomed Columbia.

The dual approach is intended to ensure that the fact-finding process is thorough and impartial.

After the Challenger disintegrated less than two minutes after taking off on Jan. 18, 1986, a presidential investigative panel concluded that poor management and communication at the space agency contributed to the disaster, which was traced to the failure of a rubber seal in a booster-rocket joint. It was determined that senior NASA officials had been told about problems with the rubber O-ring, but they failed to fully disclose all the evidence, perhaps to avoid scrubbing the Challenger launch.

This time, specialists with expertise in vehicle structures, systems and accident reconstruction will be part of the independent team that will include representatives from the Air Force, Navy, Department of Transportation, the National Transportation Safety Board and other federal agencies, officials said.