Washington, D.C.
The accident that killed seven astronauts aboard the space shuttle Columbia was caused by a NASA culture that focused too much on meeting its schedule, and not enough on safety, investigators said this week. “If these persistent, systemic flaws are not resolved,” the report said, “the scene is set for another accident.” The Columbia Accident Investigation Board, as expected, concluded in its final report that the Columbia broke apart on re-entry on Feb. 1 because a breakaway piece of foam insulation had punched a hole in the left wing during liftoff. Officials at the space agency conceded that they blew opportunities to determine whether the strike had damaged the shuttle’s heat shield and put the astronauts at risk. “We missed it,” NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe told CNN. “We flat missed it.” The report said the space agency’s attitude toward safety has improved little since the 1986 Challenger disaster, which also claimed seven lives.
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