The director of NASA’s Langley Research Center, Roy Bridges, says that the new Engineering and Safety Center is on track to be ready for operations on October 1, 2003. This independent centre will perform engineering assessment and testing on various NASA programs, and give employees a way to air their concerns without fear for their jobs. Staff at Langley expressed concerns that falling foam might be a risk to Columbia, but they were assured by the Johnson Space Center that the shuttle was fine – the shuttle was destroyed on re-entry killing all seven astronauts on board.