As the NOAA-N Prime spacecraft was being repositioned from vertical to horizontal on the "turn over cart" at approximately 7:15 PDT September 6th, it slipped off the fixture, causing severe damage.

The mishap was caused because 24 bolts were missing from a fixture in the “turn over cart”. The article goes on to mention that the bolts were missing because they had been borrowed by another team (which hadn't documented the removal), and that the NOAA team had failed to verify that the bolts were still there (since they had used them two days before).

The shock and vibration of the fall undoubtedly caused tremendous damage.

Now obviously the NOAA team screwed up, assuming that something was in the same state they had left it; and the other satellite team screwed up borrowing the bolts without filling out a 27B/6.

But the real screwup, is the bureaucrat that decided that they could save money by cutting back on bolts. Now I know this is not your regular five & dime bolt that you get at Home Depot. Its probably hand machined out of some ridiculously expensive high grade steel, with every bolt x-ray'd for defects, and half the lot destruction tested, but I'm sure that 24 of these bolts cost much less than a whole satellite. In fact, I'm sure that one satellite crash has cost Lockheed Martin more money than has been saved on every "cost cutting" measure thought up by this bureaucrat or his entire department. If anyone should be sacked, it should be that group.

[links]
Original nasawatch pictures and report at Space Ref.