Chief at Marshall Retiring in Wake of Shuttle Disaster

William R. Lucas, head of the NASA center that manages the booster rockets blamed for the space shuttle Challenger’s explosion, announced his retirement Wednesday in the latest of a series of personnel shake-ups stemming from the fiery accident.

Lucas, who is 64 and has been director of the Marshall Space Flight Center here for more than a decade, is the highest ranking NASA official to leave the space agency since the Challenger disaster on Jan. 28.

The announcement of his retirement, which had been rumored for several weeks, came just five days before a presidential commission investigating the shuttle accident is expected to release its results officially in Washington.

Targets of Criticism

Lucas is among several key managers of the Marshall center’s solid-fuel booster-rocket program who have been the targets of criticism in the wake of the Challenger explosion, which killed all seven crew members, including New Hampshire schoolteacher Sharon Christa McAuliffe.

No successor was named to replace Lucas, whose retirement becomes effective July 3.

Lucas, who will be 65 next March, announced his retirement plans in a closed-circuit television speech to employees of the Marshall center at 9 a.m.

Promise to Wife

“My work has always been so interesting that I have not looked forward to retirement,” he said. “But several months ago, I recognized that my 65th birthday was rapidly approaching, and I made the decision that I would retire before the end of 1986, and I promised that to my wife.

“The Challenger accident caused me to put aside any retirement plans temporarily until the cause of the tragedy was determined. Now that the causes of the accident are well enough understood so that the problem can be fixed . . ., I have concluded that it is appropriate for me to retire now and allow my successor to become firmly established before he has to deal with the issues and decisions regarding readiness for the (next space shuttle) flight.”

The report of the presidential commission, which is to be made public Monday, is expected to detail how superhot gases in one of the twin booster rockets penetrated O-ring seals and ignited Challenger’s external liquid-fuel tank. It is also expected to strongly criticize NASA’s management of the shuttle program and in particular the process that led to the decision to launch the Challenger.

Testified Before Panel

In testimony before the 12-member investigative panel, Lucas said that he was aware of the debate among rocket engineers about the potentially damaging effect of freezing temperatures on the crucial O-ring seals the night before Challenger’s liftoff at Cape Canaveral.

But, he said that he kept silent about the debate because he was not part of the chain of command involved in the launch decision and he believed the matter had been resolved.

He also told the commission that, even with the advantage of hindsight, the decision to go ahead with the shuttle launch was justified in light of the information available about how the seals function.

Synthetic Rubber

The O-ring seals, which are synthetic-rubber circles about one-quarter of an inch thick and 37 1/2 feet in circumference, are designed to keep gases generated within the solid-fuel boosters from escaping through the joints of the rockets’ segments.

Word of the O-ring debate on the eve of the launch apparently was never forwarded to the top NASA managers who had ultimate responsibility for clearing Challenger for liftoff.

Members of the commission reportedly were angered when, following his appearance before the panel, Lucas and his top engineers once again defended their action at a news conference in Huntsville.

May Leave NASA

Among the engineers appearing with Lucas was Lawrence B. Mulloy, who was then chief of the booster-rocket program at the Marshall Center but who has since been named assistant in another office. He has said that he is considering leaving the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Several other Marshall center officials involved in management of the booster rockets have retired or been reassigned since the shuttle disaster. They include George Hardy, deputy director of engineering, who took early retirement, and Stanley R. Reinhartz, head of the shuttle projects office, who has been moved to a new position as head of an office responsible for unspecified special projects.

Additional management changes are expected once the commission report is delivered. Families of the Challenger astronauts were briefed on the contents of the report Wednesday by commission chairman William P. Rogers. They declined to comment later on the briefing.

Marked by Controversy

Lucas’ tenure as the Marshall center’s chief has been marked by controversy, with some critics saying he set up a dictatorial regime that suppressed negative information about the center’s work.

Rep. James H. Scheuer (D-N.Y.), a member of the House Science and Technology Committee, said “there ought to be a thorough house cleaning of the whole group of decision makers that led us into this awful tragedy.”

“I hope it’s just the beginning,” he said. “I think we need a thorough-going housecleaning. When things go wrong, heads should fall. We should have some accountability.”

Forceful Leadership

But Lucas’ supporters say he provided forceful leadership during a critical period in the development of the nation’s space program.

“I’m sorry to see Dr. Lucas leave the scene,” said Sen. Howell Heflin (D-Ala.). “He has had a remarkable career with NASA and has contributed tremendously to its successes. I felt that he would be an appropriate leader to correct problems that have arisen.”

Huntsville Mayor Joe Davis said that Lucas “has done an outstanding job and is an asset to the community. I hope he has not been forced to step down.”

‘Ups and Downs’

In his retirement announcement to employees of the Marshall center, Lucas said that the center has experienced its “ups and downs” but that the successes far outnumbered the failures and he was confident that record would continue.