IRISH NASA BOSS FACES CHOP OVER COLUMBIA

NASA'S Irish boss is facing the sack after just 15 months in the job - as investigators probe the causes of the Columbia Shuttle tragedy.

Since the shuttle disintegrated over Texas killing seven astronauts, NASA chief Sean O'Keefe has been a man under the microscope and he admitted last week: "Every day is like a year."

Space chiefs, who are analysing every aspect of Mr O'Keefe's handling of the events leading up to the disaster, are set to make a decision on his future later this Spring.

And insiders say it is "touch and go" whether the Irishman will hang onto his job.

Republican politician Dana Rohrabacher, the chairman of the House space and aeronautics subcommittee, said: "This is one of the greatest challenges the head of any agency or department can ever have.

"I'd hate to be in his spot."

Mr O'Keefe, 47, who took over at NASA after stints as Navy secretary and deputy director of the White House budget office, was brought in to stop overspending on the international space station.

Though successful, he admits his career is on the line.

Mr O'Keefe, who has already testified before Congress three times and has spent hours meeting privately with lawmakers, said: "The ultimate measure of account-ability rests right here in this office.

"We must be accountable for whatever it is we did. I view that as a personal responsibility."

Already, there has been criticism of the way NASA dealt with the investigation.

Early on, it dismissed the possibility that three chunks of debris which struck Columbia's left wing on lift-off could have led to the accident but later O'Keefe was forced to admit the debris was still being investigated as a possible cause.

He has also irritated critics by limiting public access to internal documents and emails which might shed light on what caused the accident.

House Science Committee member Anthony Weiner complained: "Instead of doing everything possible to mollify the critics, it seems on occasions O'Keefe has stoked the criticism."

Whether or not Mr O'Keefe survives the investigation, it is feared that the accident will mean there will be fewer manned space flights - partly because of safety concerns and partly because of their huge cost.

Republican politician Vernon Ehlers said: "Manned programmes are exorbitantly expensive. If we are serious about doing science, we cannot spend as much money on manned programmes."

Meanwhile, Mr O'Keefe, who met relatives of the dead astronauts just hours after the shuttle disintegrated, says he is still trying to come to terms with what happened on February 1: "I still haven't totally internalised the tragedy. I just found it stunning what remarkable people they are.

"It strengthened the resolve from that moment forward that we positively owed it to them, at a minimum, at least to come to the truth on what happened here."

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