The Region - News from Dec. 22, 1986

An engineer who worked on the space shuttle project for Lockheed Space Operations Co. has sued the firm, alleging wrongful termination of employment. John Maxson, a computer software specialist, claims in the lawsuit filed in Santa Barbara County Superior Court that the prime contractor for the shuttle program fired him in May because he refused to participate in what he called a “fraudulent” computer procurement scheme. The suit also alleges that he was fired because he raised safety questions before the December, 1985, launch of the shuttle Columbia. Maxson also claimed that the firing resulted from his outspoken belief that programming errors by Lockheed played a role in the Jan. 28 explosion that destroyed the shuttle Challenger, killing seven astronauts.