Young Says He Was Ousted as Chief Astronaut

Astronaut John Young, whose frequent criticism of shuttle safety issues angered many NASA co-workers, says he was forced against his will to give up his job as chief astronaut, a newspaper reported today.

In his first public comment on the issue since being transferred to a new post in April, Young told the Orlando Sentinel that he suspects his removal as chief of the astronaut office was triggered in part by his sharp public criticism of National Aeronautics and Space Administration safety policies in the wake of the Challenger disaster.

“They just called me in one day and said I had a week to make up my mind whether I wanted a new job, that it was a lateral transfer and I didn’t have a choice,” Young, 56, said in a Houston interview. “I said I’d like to think about it some and they said there was nothing to think about.”

Shuttle Flying in Doubt

He said his reassignment could mean the end of his shuttle flying. Before Challenger’s doom, he had been assigned as commander of a flight to launch the $1.4-billion Hubble Space Telescope, considered by many to be one of the most important NASA space missions in years to come.

Young, who joined NASA in 1962, is the world’s most experienced astronaut, with a record six flights to his credit, including a walk on the moon. He also served as commander of two shuttle missions, including the program’s historic first flight in 1981.

He was named chief of the astronaut office in 1975 after a year as acting chief and was responsible for helping pick shuttle crews, coordinating astronaut training and serving as spokesman for the space fliers.

Suddenly Removed

But on April 15, Young was abruptly removed from the post and named director of engineering and safety at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Astronaut Daniel Brandenstein, a veteran of two shuttle flights, was later named chief of the astronaut office.

Young told the Sentinel he had no idea he was about to lose his job when he was summoned to a meeting with Johnson Space Center Director Aaron Cohen, who told him he no longer ran the astronaut office.

Young said he was stunned and deeply hurt by the transfer because he wanted to stay on as chief astronaut until the next shuttle flight, now scheduled for June, 1988.

Cohen denied that Young’s past criticisms had any role in the reassignment and said he simply needed someone with experience to oversee critical aspects of the shuttle program.