HUNDREDS of thousands of magnetic tapes containing data on space science have been stored under damaging conditions, according to the General Accounting Office, the investigating arm of the US Congress.
In a report to be made public this weekend, the GAO also says that NASA does not know how much data has been lost since 1958 because of the deterioration in magnetic tapes. It adds that the agency cannot easily identify or retrieve its stored data. The report recommends that NASA should make data management as important as developing, launching and operating missions. The data that satellites have collected is a valuable national resource. In many cases it is irreplaceable, the report says.
In response, NASA says the report is 'harsh'. John O'Brien, an assistant deputy administrator for the agency, says in a letter to the GAO: 'We take particularly strong exception to the implication that NASA is not safeguarding ...
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