Shuttle Panel Attends to ‘Housekeeping’

The commission appointed by President Reagan to investigate the space shuttle Challenger explosion, still trying to establish the framework by which it will conduct its grim business, met in private Friday to engage in, among other items, what one staff member described as “housekeeping matters.”

“They continued their investigation and discussed their approach to their responsibility and some administrative matters,” said White House assistant press secretary Mark Weinberg.

Weinberg said he did not know when the next meeting would be held--or whether it would be open to the public.

NASA has been criticized by some congressmen for its extreme reluctance to release more than the barest of facts about the explosion, a tragedy witnessed by millions of Americans on television.

Open Investigation

A few NASA officials have expressed private hopes that the presidential commission would engage in a fully open investigation, allowing the public to watch the unfolding of evidence intended to reveal what caused the $1.2-billion spacecraft to explode, killing its crew of seven.

Weinberg declined to say whether witnesses had testified Friday before the 13-member panel, which is chaired by William P. Rogers, secretary of state under President Richard M. Nixon, and contains several prestigious scientists and aeronautics experts.

Meanwhile, the White House indicated that James M. Beggs, on leave as NASA administrator since his indictment on fraud charges, may resign, enabling President Reagan to appoint a new, permanent boss for the beleaguered space agency.

May Step Down

White House spokesman Larry Speakes’ said that Beggs “apparently has told some people he is considering stepping aside and may do so.”

Beggs has been on indefinite paid leave since his indictment on Dec. 2 on fraud charges unrelated to his space duties. His deputy, William R. Graham, has been filling in as the agency’s chief.

Even though the Administration has not indicated that it wants Beggs to leave, the names of several potential successors are circulating in Washington, including Graham, former NASA administrators James C. Fletcher and Thomas O. Paine, another former NASA official, Hans Mark, and former astronaut Frank Borman, currently board chairman of Eastern Airlines.

In Florida, the Coast Guard ended its search for floating debris from the Challenger Friday, convinced that ocean currents have carried away anything that did not sink or has not already been recovered.

Underwater Search

All efforts now will be directed toward underwater salvage, which is expected to take weeks, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Coast Guard spokesman Paul Scotti said cutters would remain in the area to restrict access to locations where wreckage has been found on the ocean floor, but he said there are no plans to continue “active search.”

That was about the only word out of the Kennedy Space Center Friday, which has maintained a lid of secrecy on the search for debris as well as the investigation into the cause of the tragedy.

NASA spokesmen would not even comment on photographs that ABC News said it acquired from a crew member aboard one of the search boats. The photos show recovery of a helmet exactly like those worn by the seven members of Challenger’s crew.

Peter H. King reported from Washington and Lee Dye from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.