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.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Zohran Mamdani: the young progressive likely to be New York City's next mayorIn The Spotlight The policies and experience that led to his meteoric rise
-
The best film reboots of all timeThe Week Recommends Creativity and imagination are often required to breathe fresh life into old material
-
'More must be done'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
