Stories Between April 1 and Aug. 26, 2003 In Reverse Chronological Order
Columbia Report Faults NASA Culture, Government Oversight
WASHINGTON -- Politics, budgets, schedule pressure and managerial complacency all played roles in causing the Feb. 1 Columbia tragedy, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) said in its final report released today.
Columbia Accident Investigation Board Report Excerpts
WASHINGTON -- Here are selected excerpts -- presented by topics -- from the Columbia Accident Investigation Board final report.
Columbia Timeline: Seven Months from Tragedy to Final Report
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Nearly seven months after Columbia broke apart over Texas skies the formal investigation is complete and the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) report was released today in Washington.
NASA's Character to be Tested in Coming Months
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Its management culture indicted by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB), NASA leaders now will learn something about their character.
For Post-Columbia NASA, White House Leadership Needed, Observers Say
TELLURIDE, Colo. -- NASA is in for tough times. The shuttle Columbia tragedy has revealed a space agency that requires a crucial and long overdue overhaul.
White House Turns Down Shuttle Budget Boost Request
WASHINGTON -- The White House has turned down a NASA request for an extra $1.6 billion next year to get the three remaining shuttles flying again and speed up development of the proposed Orbital Space Plane, Florida Today has learned.
President Bush Call Space Program 'Important,' Has Not Seen Columbia Accident Report
Following a meeting with economic leaders in Seattle, Washington yesterday, U.S. President George W. Bush was asked to comment on the upcoming release of the final report from the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB).
Columbia Board Report to be Released Tuesday
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The Columbia Accident Investigation Board will release their final report to the public on Tuesday, Aug. 26, as previously scheduled, officials said Thursday.
Task Group Report Due One Month Before Shuttle Launch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA officials will have at least one month's notice before the next shuttle will fly that the agency is on the correct path for the return to flight, the body tasked with overseeing the process said Thursday.
Shuttle Return to Flight Task Group Begins Work in Florida
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- An independent team that will judge NASA's readiness to return shuttles to flight began work at the Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, agency officials announced.
Columbia Investigator Fears NASA Won't Change
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- A Nobel Prize-winning member of the board investigating the space shuttle Columbia disaster says he fears NASA won't change its culture, possibly leading to yet another accident.
Better Images Sought in Columbia Probe
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- The Columbia accident investigators urged NASA on Wednesday to provide better, quicker pictures of separating shuttle fuel tanks and the vulnerable underside of the spaceships' wings to check for potential damage from launch debris.
International Space Agency Heads Support International Station
MONTEREY, Calif. (AP) -- Leaders of the world's space agencies voiced continued support Tuesday for the international space station despite the delays, burdens and logistical problems caused by the grounding of the U.S. space shuttle fleet following the Columbia disaster.
Shuttle Manager Linda Ham: Blame No One
SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) -- With tears in her eyes, the NASA manager who dismissed the possibility during Columbia's doomed flight that the shuttle had been seriously damaged by foam defended her decisions Tuesday and said no one should be blamed for the tragedy.
Transcripts Show NASA Managers Downplayed Foam Threat
SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) -- The NASA official who led Columbia's mission management team during the doomed flight swiftly dismissed as a safety threat the launch-day foam strike to the left wing, transcripts released Tuesday show.
NASA Debates Display of Columbia Debris
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- NASA officials are delicately seeking advice about what to do with the 84,000 shattered pieces from Columbia, cautiously broaching the idea of putting some shuttle parts on display.
Russian Space Chief Skeptical of Shuttle Fleet Return to Flight Timeline
MOSCOW (AP) --The Russian space agency chief expressed skepticism Friday about NASA's plans to return its shuttle fleet to space in six to nine months, saying he believes the break in shuttle flights following the Columbia disaster will last at least until mid-2004, a news agency reported.
Weather Scrubs Could Become More Frequent For Shuttle
DAYTON, Ohio -- Weather-related scrubs could become more common for the space shuttle program as a result of a recommendation put forward by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB).
Interviews Uncover Shuttle Program Flaws
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- NASA inspectors charged with making sure space shuttles are safe to fly were forced to buy their own tools and prevented from making spot checks, a Columbia accident investigator says.
NASA Chief: Shuttles in Space Again in '6 to 9' Months
WASHINGTON (AP) -- NASA should be able to recover from the Columbia accident and safely return the shuttle fleet to space within ``six to nine months,'' the space agency administrator says.
NASA Creates Independent Safety Center
HAMPTON, Va. (AP) -- Spurred by the Columbia space shuttle tragedy, NASA will create an independent safety center to examine all space agency programs and projects, officials said Tuesday.
Columbia Investigation Board: Even Without STS-107 Disaster, Shuttle Safety Issues a Concern
WASHINGTON -- Even if the space shuttle Columbia and her crew had not been lost in February, any review as penetrating as the one undertaken by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) would have uncovered plenty to concern safety experts, the lead investigator into the incident told reporters Friday.
Columbia Board Delays Report Release Until August
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) -- The board investigating the Columbia disaster will not issue its final report until the end of August, a full month later than planned, in order to allow enough time for editing the massive document.
Hot Gases Breached Shuttle Atlantis' Wing in 2000
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Superheated gases breached the left wing of shuttle Atlantis during a recent fiery return to Earth in hauntingly similar fashion to the demise of Columbia nearly three years later, according to internal NASA documents.
Shuttle Foam Test Offers 'Smoking Gun' Proof Of Disaster
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- A chunk of foam insulation fired at shuttle wing parts Monday blew open a gaping 16-inch hole, yielding what one member of the Columbia investigation team said was the "smoking gun" that proves what brought down the spaceship.
Top Ten: Questions and Answers About the Columbia Board Report
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- It's almost over except for the shouting. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board's (CAIB) final report is targeted for release by the end of July and isn't expected to include many surprises that will alter the widely accepted theories about what caused the Feb. 1 tragedy.
NASA Names New Shuttle Management Team Members
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle program manager Bill Parsons announced Wednesday the new team of NASA officials that will help him lead the agency's orbiter fleet back to flight.
NASA Urged to Improve Shuttle Launch/Landing Surveillance
WASHINGTON -- The Columbia Accident Investigation Board released its fourth interim recommendation Tuesday, urging NASA to beef up its surveillance of space shuttles during launch and liftoff.
NASA E-Mails Show 'No Concern' About Foam
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Even as NASA engineers debated possible damage, a flight director e-mailed Columbia's astronauts to say there was ``absolutely no concern'' that breakaway foam that struck the space shuttle might endanger its safe return. The shuttle's commander cheerily replied, ``Thanks a million!''
Columbia Board Tells NASA to Develop Heatshield Repair Capability
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA must come up with a way to inspect and repair a space shuttle's thermal protection system while in orbit before missions can resume, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) said Friday.
NASA Chief Talks Return to Flight, Names New KSC Director
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Agreeing with comments made by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) earlier this week, NASA's top official on Thursday indicated that space shuttles could resume flying early next year if all goes well during the next six to nine months.
Shuttles Can Resume Flying Within Months, Columbia Board Chief Says
WASHINGTON -- Nothing the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) is likely to recommend should preclude NASA from launching its next space shuttle by early 2004, board chairman Harold Gehman said Tuesday.
Columbia Probe Finalizing Wing Tests
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Investigators sorting through the events that brought down space shuttle Columbia and killed seven astronauts are completing a rough draft of their final report while engineers in Texas continue testing how much wing damage is possible from a high-speed collision with foam insulation.
Lawmaker Calls For Independent Space Accident Investigations
In the event of future space flight accidents, there's need for NASA to step completely out of the way and let a truly independent investigation proceed.
Former, Current Astronauts Satisfied with NASA's Safety Efforts, But Live with Risk
HOUSTON (AP) -- Despite the safety problems uncovered by the Columbia space shuttle investigation, several current and former astronauts say they are comfortable with NASA's approach to safety, even as they acknowledge there's no way to make space travel risk-free.
Lawmakers to Get Shuttle Interview Access
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Columbia Accident Investigation Board has agreed to give selected members of Congress limited access to statements from witnesses who testified to the board under an agreement of confidentiality.
NASA Moves Kennedy Space Center Director to Virginia Post
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Kennedy Space Center Director Roy Bridges has announced he is leaving Florida to become the director of Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.
Columbia Board: Shuttle Flew with Defective Hardware
WASHINGTON -- The Columbia Accident Investigation Board said Thursday that it had identified another threat to the space shuttle that NASA might be required to remedy before its three remaining orbiters are cleared to return to flight.
Columbia Board to Say Shuttle Flew with Defective Hardware
NEW YORK -- Shuttle Columbia was launched with defective mission-critical hardware, slipping all too easily through NASA's quality control process, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) is expected to reveal at an afternoon press conference today.
NASA Targets Dec. 18 for Shuttle Launch Under New Rules
WASHINGTON -- NASA wants to return its shuttle fleet to flight by about Dec. 18 and then launch six missions to complete the U.S. core of the International Space Station by February 2005, agency officials said Tuesday.
NASA Redesigns Key Piece of Shuttle Hardware
WASHINGTON -- NASA has all but settled on a new design for a piece of space shuttle hardware suspected of having touched off the chain of events that led to the destruction of space shuttle Columbia Feb. 1, according to an agency official.
Orbiter Workers Seek Closure With Shuttle's Loss
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- They met almost 20 years ago, in the high desert of California, north of Los Angeles, in Palmdale.
Test Results Back Columbia Foam Theory
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- A chunk of foam fired at high speed cracked a space shuttle wing panel Friday, offering what investigators said was the most powerful evidence yet to support the theory that a piece of the stiff, lightweight insulation doomed Columbia.
Columbia Investigators Gear Up for Test
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Columbia accident investigators hoped to finally fire a piece of foam at space shuttle wing parts, a crucial test to help prove whether the material is capable of a catastrophic strike.
Leading Shuttle Disaster Theory To Be Tested
WASHINGTON -- The leading theory of what doomed the Space Shuttle Columbia will be put to the test Thursday in San Antonio, Tex. when a chunk of foam is shot at the reinforced carbon carbon leading edge of a mock shuttle wing.
Foam Test Damages Shuttle Wing's Leading Edge
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A test conducted Thursday in Texas has provided the first hard evidence directly linking falling insulation foam and damage to a space shuttle wing, according to a spokesman with the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB).
Secret Columbia Testimony Will be Available to Congress
WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers on Capitol Hill will have access to secret testimony heard by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB), sources tell SPACE.com.
Shuttle Rescue Might or Might Not Have Been Successful
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- NASA could have launched another shuttle to rescue the Columbia astronauts if it had known early in the flight how severe the wing damage was and decided it was worth the extraordinary risk to the second ship and crew, the chief accident investigator said Friday.
Fuzzy Photos Stymied Studies of Columbia's Wing Damage
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Frustrated NASA engineers complained during Columbia's mission that blurry pictures hindered their ability to assess how badly Columbia's left wing was damaged by launch debris.
NASA's O'Keefe Promises Study of Safety Reporting System
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Despite a "massive disgorging" of e-mails from worried engineers during space shuttle Columbia's doomed flight, no one called a safety hot line or alerted high-ranking officials that the orbiter may have been mortally damaged during liftoff, the head of NASA says.
Former Astronaut Richard Covey to Lead Independent Shuttle Safety Panel
WASHINGTON -- Retired space shuttle astronaut Richard Covey has been chosen by NASA to lead an outside panel of experts to evaluate NASAs safety procedures as it prepares to return its remaining shuttles safely to flight.
Tank Foam Remains Top Suspect in Columbia Tragedy, Marshall Chief to Resign in June
HOUSTON (AP) -- Columbia accident investigators said Tuesday that chunks of foam insulation broke off space shuttle fuel tanks more frequently than NASA realized and everything points to the debris as the cause of the disaster.
Columbia Board Chairman: Shuttle Fleet Should Fly Again
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's space shuttle fleet should be able to fly again, the chairman of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board said Saturday at the Kennedy Space Center.
Columbia Debris Search Teams Get Congressional Thank You
The U.S. House of Representatives has sent a collective "thank you" to the 20,000 volunteers involved in looking for shuttle wreckage following the Feb. 1 destruction of Columbia.
Columbia Board Boss: NASA's Safety Officials Need More Clout
WASHINGTON -- The NASA organizations responsible for raising safety concerns need more clout if they are to be heard and heeded, the chairman of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board told a Senate panel May 14.
Shuttle Investigator Says Tumbling Foam Packed More Punch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- The chunk of foam insulation that smacked into the edge of Columbia's left wing during liftoff was tumbling when it struck, almost certainly strengthening the blow, the accident investigator in charge of foam-firing tests said Tuesday.
Texas Congressman Says Shuttle Not Safe to Fly
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The space shuttle has cost the lives of 14 astronauts in just 113 flights and is not safe enough to keep flying with people on board, a Texas congressman said.
William Parsons will be NASA's New Shuttle Chief
WASHINGTON (AP) -- William W. Parsons, director of NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, was named Friday as the new manager of the space shuttle program
Columbia Accident Board Reveals a 'Working Hypothesis'
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The pieces are face up on the table and the edge is defined, but the puzzle is far from being solved.
Shuttle Tank Foam Warning Came Three Years Ago
HOUSTON -- Nearly three years before Columbia launched, NASA engineers listed a host of potentially risky problems with foam insulation applied to shuttle fuel tanks at Lockheed Martin's factory near New Orleans, agency records show.
NASA Probe Finds Foam Doomed Shuttle
HOUSTON -- NASA's in-house investigators are convinced foam debris doomed the shuttle Columbia. They are only waiting for air canon tests in Texas to confirm what the rest of the evidence revealed, Florida Today has learned.
Shuttle's Re-entry Procedures Assessed
No changes in the way the space shuttle Columbia returned to Earth would have saved it, an internal NASA report concludes.
Live Worms Found in Shuttle Debris
Hundreds of worms from a science experiment aboard the space shuttle Columbia have been found alive in the wreckage, NASA said Wednesday.
Shuttle Columbia Investigators Close to Best Theory
Columbia accident investigators said Tuesday they are close to zeroing in on where a hole opened up in the spaceship's left wing and strongly suspect the fatal blow was caused by a chunk of flyaway foam at liftoff.
NASA Pioneers Testify on Shuttle Columbia Tragedy
Space program pioneers told Columbia investigators Wednesday that shuttle wings were never designed to be struck by anything and they suggested NASA should have taken the potential problem much more seriously.
Shuttle Chief Dittemore will Resign Later this Year
Ron Dittemore will step down as NASA's shuttle program manager later this year after the Columbia Accident Investigation Board presents its final report and a successor is named, officials confirmed Wednesday.
Columbia Board Increasingly Sure of Accident Cause
Columbia investigators said Tuesday they are growing more certain of what brought down the shuttle: A seal on the left wing was struck by foam during liftoff and fell off the next day, creating a gap that let in enough scorching gases during re-entry to rip the ship apart.
NASA's O'Keefe: Agency's Objective is to Resume Shuttle Flights by Year's End
There is no denying that NASA Administrator, Sean O'Keefe, is steering his agency through turbulent times.
NASA's O'Keefe: 'Better Days Ahead'
"There are indeed better days ahead," said NASA chief, Sean OKeefe, speaking here at the 19th National Space Symposium.
Columbia Board Releases Two Recommendations to NASA
Before resuming shuttle missions NASA must do a better job inspecting the leading edge of the spaceplanes' wings and ensure that the nation's spy satellites capture detailed images of the orbiter during each flight.
Shuttle Columbia Debris will be Stored for Future Research
Shuttle Columbia's final resting place won't be an abandoned missile silo like its sistership Challenger.
Report: Wing Was Issue on Earlier Shuttle
Almost two years before the Columbia disaster, NASA inspectors discovered serious weakening of another shuttle's protective left-wing panel and ordered a fleet wide inspection out of fear the problem would infect other shuttles, internal space agency documents show.
Next Shuttle Astronauts Search for Debris
Astronaut Eileen Collins will always have a special bond with space shuttle Columbia. In 1999, it gave her the opportunity to become the first woman ever to command a shuttle flight.
Columbia Report Due Out in June
The Columbia investigation board intends to release its final report on the cause of the space shuttle accident by June, a source close to the independent investigative body has told Space News.
Computer Analysis of Shuttle Tile Damage Questioned
The Columbia accident investigators said Tuesday that the computer model that told engineers a falling chunk of foam hadn't harmed the shuttle's wing at launch was outdated and lacked the right information.
Earlier Shuttle Flight Had Foam Problem
Foam insulation, which broke off during a space shuttle launch just a few months before Columbia's doomed flight, was not considered a hazard or a high-priority problem, a NASA expert said Monday at a hearing into the accident.
Columbia's Mystery Object: Radar Signature Tests Continue
Experts of the independent Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) continue to analyze what floated free from Columbia during day two of its 16-day mission. The object was detected by military tracking radar, apparently dislodged from the space plane shortly after it fired maneuvering jets.
Back-Up 'Black Box' Advocated For Shuttle Fleet
Engineers face a daunting task in sifting through sensor data to piece together what took place during Columbia's final moments high above Earth, prompting investigators to consider recommending that future shuttles carry a robust data recorder similar in concept to the "black boxes" flown on commercial airliners.
Engineers Identify Debris from Columbia's Left Wing
Debris from shuttle Columbia's left wing has been positively identified by engineers at the Kennedy Space Center as coming from an area on the space plane that is at the center of the accident investigation.
Primer May Have Weakened Shuttle Wing
Paint primer leaching off the shuttle launch towers may have eaten tiny holes in the leading edge of Columbia's left wing, weakening it enough to break when struck by a chunk of foam during liftoff, accident investigators said Tuesday.
Engineer: NASA May Have Eyed Options
There were ways NASA engineers might have tried to save Columbia if they had known for certain that the space shuttle was in trouble from a damaged wing, NASA's chief shuttle engineer wrote in an e-mail 12 days before the craft's destruction.
Researchers Prepare for Columbia Foam Test
Researchers shot a chunk of real space shuttle foam insulation at an aluminum sheet Friday in preparation for tests later this month requested by the Columbia accident investigators.
Columbia Mission STS-107 | Columbia Special Report | Shuttle Return to Flight | SPACE.com Spaceflight
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