Monday, Dec. 23, 1991

At Nasa, He Who Hesitated Is Out

By Sidney Urquhart

In the wake of the Challenger tragedy six years ago, the space agency put a premium on caution -- but only up to a point. NASA's top ranks are dominated by gung-ho former astronauts who are determined to keep launches on a tight schedule. An apparent victim of that policy is FORREST MCCARTNEY, director of the Kennedy Space Center, who was forced out last month after he twice refused to approve a final "go for launch" because of safety concerns. Both flights went smoothly after the problems were fixed -- in one case a hydrogen-fuel leak and in another a warped hinge and latch. William Lenoir, a former astronaut and top NASA official, insisted that McCartney had to go. NASA administrator and former astronaut Richard Truly concurred and offered McCartney a desk job at Washington headquarters. But McCartney has quit, to look for "a job where I can whistle on my way to work," he says, "and whistle when I get back home."