He was absent from NASA between 1996 and 2003. However, following the loss of the Space Shuttle "Columbia" and her crew, Cameron returned to the space program in October 2003, taking a founding position as a Principal Engineer in the NASA Engineering &amp; Safety Center, based at the NASA Langley Research Center, in Hampton, Virginia. In June 2005, Cameron was selected as Deputy Director for Safety of the NESC, and in June 2007 he was relocated to the NESC office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.