In documents obtained by The Washington Post and in interviews, current and former NASA employees said Cobb's actions had contributed to a lack of attention to safety problems at the space agency, the newspaper said.

In an interview with the Post, Dennis Coldren, retired manager of NASA space station and space shuttle audits, was one of several associates to describe Cobb as a "bully."

Coldren also alleged that, just weeks before the February 2003 Columbia space shuttle disaster, Cobb quashed efforts to inquire into canceled funding to upgrade deteriorating gantries, launch pads and other shuttle infrastructure.