Texas machine shop owner pleads guilty to fraud for selling defective space shuttle part
Federal prosecutors say a Houston-area machine shop owner has pleaded guilty to selling NASA a defective space shuttle part that if used could have resulted in the loss of the spacecraft.
Richard J. Harmon, 60, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud Monday during a Houston court hearing.
Prosecutors say Harmon, who had a shop in nearby Alvin, turned in a defective fastener he had been hired to build by a NASA contractor.
The part was to be used to secure cargo in the payload bay of space shuttle Endeavour during a March 2008 flight to the international space station. But a NASA engineer discovered the defect before the flight.
Harmon faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced on June 29.
Copyright 2009 AP News
