Talk:Linda Ham

If anyone is wondering where this article is going, I'll explain here...the Columbia disaster occurred as the result of a complex sequence of technical and human decisions and actions. Linda Ham's involvement in this sequence was very key and crucial. Using the references you see listed at the bottom of the article, I plan to construct a neutral, fair, and complete article that covers her involvement in the Columbia tragedy. The article will be extensively sourced, with in-line references for every assertion. Once completed, I will submit for peer review to make sure the article is NPOV and adequately written, and then I will nominate for Featured Article status. This process will take several months because FA standards are very high and I want this article to be at the standard I put into the history articles I edit, but it will be completed. If anyone else would like to jump-in and help out, please feel free to do so, the references you need are there and most of them are available on the web. This story is notable and needs to be told in Wikipedia. I welcome any comments or suggestions. Cla68 02:02, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

Trivia question

In France we have old reruns of SNL episodes. There is a part with Linda Ham from NASA (and obviously it is is pre-Columbia). Is it her who is caricatured ? Hektor 22:45, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

I have just found the SNL transcript: http://snltranscripts.jt.org/98/98fharrycarey.phtml. As you said, it's obviously pre-Columbia, and yes, it is Ham who is caricatured. I don't know if the information is worth including in the article or not, but if her role as flight director on the John Glenn mission is mentioned specifically, then it might well be. MLilburne 07:54, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

The Is that thing ever coming back? gives to this transcript an odd taste. Hektor 08:18, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

It does. Personally I think this is one of the rare pieces of trivia that actually would give some color to the article. But I will wait to hear the opinion of cla68 first. MLilburne 08:23, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

I have just noticed that this is already mentioned in the Harry Caray entry, although without saying the name of the character Joan Allen is impersonating. Here is another image. Hektor 10:38, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

SNL is a significant part of western pop culture so I think that skit can be mentioned in the article. It may not have to be put in a trivia section, but could be included in the main article section. Cla68 11:53, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Great. I'll work it in. MLilburne 11:55, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

A few thoughts

I think the article needs more information about Ham's time as flight director. As it is, the first twenty years of her career at NASA are subsumed under the heading "Early career," which surely is pushing it a bit. I've been compiling a list of the missions and shifts that she worked as flight director (from NASA press releases). The article ought to discuss at least the most notable of these missions, which shouldn't be that hard to do.

I've also been wondering about how to organise the section on the Columbia disaster. What you've written so far is extremely good: clear, factual, and excellent prose. On the other hand, it seems to be more about CAIB than about Ham so far. I wonder whether this section should tell the story more chronologically: that is, start by describing the Columbia mission, and Ham's role as a member of the MMT, before discussing the outcome of the mission and the CAIB's verdict. Just a thought. I'd be interested to know how you're planning to structure the rest of the section and the rest of the article. MLilburne 17:30, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

I agree with you that more of her ``early career`` should be detailed, I just couldn't find more information on it myself. I was going to take the approach of discussing her involvement with the Columbia disaster through the post-disaster ``eyes`` of the CAIB, enlarging on their assessments with comments from outside observers. The last section was going to discuss the impact of the CAIB's report on her career and post-CAIB discussion on her actions and decisions by outside commentators, such as the reaction by political leaders to the news that no one individual within NASA was going to be held invidually accountable for the disaster. However, if you would like to take a more chronological approach, I don't have a problem with that at all. Cla68 01:39, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

I'll see what I can put together regarding her early career and her post-Columbia career, and leave you with the CAIB section for the time being. It sounds like you have a very coherent idea of how to approach it. MLilburne 13:38, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

Just an update...I will be getting back to working on this article within the next couple of months. I've been busy with other things. Thank you for your efforts with it in the meantime. Cla68 03:31, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Glad to be of help. (I've been pretty busy with other articles myself.) It's good to hear that you will be getting back to working on it. It strikes me that getting it to FA status in time for the anniversary in February would be a really good goal, if possible. MLilburne 07:44, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Citation issue

The recently added quote "O'Keefe said she is so talented there is going to be a 'bidding war' for her among NASA facilities" is sourced to the New York Times in the main text, but to a Washington Post article in the relevant footnote. Would the provider of the quote please correct or clarify. —DCGeist 03:29, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

Thanks; that was a silly mistake. I've corrected it. MLilburne 06:54, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

Picture?

Seems to me that there ought to be a picture of Ham as a flight director, but the only ones available are quite poor. For example, this one. Opinions? MLilburne 08:07, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

The only other pictures I found of her were post-STS-107. I don't think the picture you found is that "poor." It's actually a fairly good candid shot, apparently showing her "in action" performing her duties. I think we could use it in the "Flight director" section. Cla68 03:22, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

I'll put it in, then! MLilburne 07:27, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

Five years later

I've of the opinion that Ham was unfairly singled out for criticism after the Columbia accident, based largely on the infamous "...there's nothing we can do about it anyway" quote, which referred to a possible turnaround delay for Columbia, not the foam strike damage to the wing. I've tried to add some contextual comments to the article.

No one gets to be a flight director or a top manager at NASA by being a shy and retiring type, and Ham's drive to achieve seems to have irked a fair number of males along the way. I'm not an apologist for Ms. Ham, I've never met her, but there seems to have been a double-standard at work. Legendary flight director Gene Kranz was certainly no pussycat, yet the hard-charging Ham seems to have been unfairly singled out for similar behavior. In particular one can refer to the Langewiesche article in the Atlantic, which mentions Ham's alleged behavior and manner of dress. It should be noted that Langewiesche never interviewed Ham directly, and the article, though rich in technical details, smacks of a thinly disguised demolition job.

I think it's fair to say that Ham was the product of the culture inside NASA at the time. The agency has struggled since the Apollo era with communication issues, and the Challenger and Columbia accidents prove that there is more work to be done. The system is supposed to reward and encourage those at "the bottom" who bring potential problems to those in charge. In both accidents, that didn't happen, though of the two the Challenger accident is the best example. Foam hitting the shuttle was not thought to be a safety concern, whereas O-ring burn through on the solid rocket boosters was, but was dismissed as an "acceptable" risk.

It's easy to paint Linda Ham as a callous technocrat, but the truth, as always, is far more complex and interesting.

--Mike Chapman