scope:

Description of Driving Event:

The Lewis Spacecraft was procured by NASA via a 1994 contract with TRW, Inc., and launched on 23 August 1997. Contact with the spacecraft was subsequently lost on 26 August 1997. The spacecraft re-entered the atmosphere and was destroyed on 28 September 1997.

The Lewis Spacecraft Mission Failure Investigation Board was established to gather and analyze information and determine the facts as to the actual or probable cause(s) of the Lewis Spacecraft Mission Failure. The Board was also tasked to review and assess the "Faster, Better, Cheaper" Lewis spacecraft acquisition and management processes used by both NASA and the contractor in order to determine if they may have contributed to the failure. The investigation process used by the Board was to individually interview all persons believed to have had a substantial involvement in the Lewis spacecraft acquisition, development, management, launch, operations and the events that may have led to the eventual loss. These interviews were aimed at not only understanding the facts as they occurred but also at understanding the individual perceptions that may have been instrumental in the decisions and judgments as made on this Program.