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CNN Live At Daybreak
Shuttle Columbia Final Report
Aired August 26, 2003 - 06:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It's been nearly seven months since the shuttle Columbia broke up over Texas, killing its seven crewmembers. This morning, we find out why it happened.
Investigators will release their final report into the disaster. The report is expected to say that foam broke off the external tank and damaged Columbia's heat shield. About half of the report is said to deal with management and engineering mistakes, and the families of the Columbia crew already have been briefed on this report. Simply put: this probably will not be NASA's finest day.
The board investigating what led up the space shuttle Columbia disaster is expected to take the gloves off when it releases that report.
Live to Washington and Skip Loescher.
Good morning Skip.
SKIP LOESCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
This is going to be ugly, according to NASA's administrator, Sean O'Keefe. The report is likely to call for a total restructuring of NASA, so that safety is always paramount.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOESCHER (voice-over): The Columbia Accident Investigation Board's final report notes foam insulation on the external fuel tank has broken off on a number of shuttle flights, just as it did during the Columbia launch. But the one and a half pound piece that broke off in January punched a hole the size of a dinner plate in the leading edge of Columbia's left wing.
The report shows that same NASA engineers expressed alarm, worried that the damage done could be lethal for the shuttle and its astronauts. But they were so intimidated, the report notes, that their concerns either didn't make it to NASA's top management or were ignored by them.
It's a management problem, which must never be allowed to happen again, the board says.
RANDY AVERA, FORMER NASA ENGINEER: Human beings, having our own way of being not so reliable, we need a system in place that checks that reliability. LOESCHER: The result, of course, was upon re-entry, gases heated to thousands of degrees, penetrated the wing and melted it from the inside out. Columbia disintegrated, killing all on board, who were never told about the danger they were in.
SEAN O'KEEFE, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: The range of emotions that moved from enthusiasm and great pride over what was an extremely successful mission, it suddenly in an instant turned to just tragedy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOESCHER: The chairman of the House Subcommittee on Space says Congress will have to knock some heads and let some people go to change NASA, which he says has become a huge blob of bureaucracy.
We're live in Washington. I'm Skip Loescher.
Carol -- back to you.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Skip.
And we're told that report will be released about 10:00 Eastern Time this morning, and, of course, you can watch the whole thing unfold, as we bring it to you live right here on CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired August 26, 2003 - 06:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It's been nearly seven months since the shuttle Columbia broke up over Texas, killing its seven crewmembers. This morning, we find out why it happened.
Investigators will release their final report into the disaster. The report is expected to say that foam broke off the external tank and damaged Columbia's heat shield. About half of the report is said to deal with management and engineering mistakes, and the families of the Columbia crew already have been briefed on this report. Simply put: this probably will not be NASA's finest day.
The board investigating what led up the space shuttle Columbia disaster is expected to take the gloves off when it releases that report.
Live to Washington and Skip Loescher.
Good morning Skip.
SKIP LOESCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
This is going to be ugly, according to NASA's administrator, Sean O'Keefe. The report is likely to call for a total restructuring of NASA, so that safety is always paramount.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOESCHER (voice-over): The Columbia Accident Investigation Board's final report notes foam insulation on the external fuel tank has broken off on a number of shuttle flights, just as it did during the Columbia launch. But the one and a half pound piece that broke off in January punched a hole the size of a dinner plate in the leading edge of Columbia's left wing.
The report shows that same NASA engineers expressed alarm, worried that the damage done could be lethal for the shuttle and its astronauts. But they were so intimidated, the report notes, that their concerns either didn't make it to NASA's top management or were ignored by them.
It's a management problem, which must never be allowed to happen again, the board says.
RANDY AVERA, FORMER NASA ENGINEER: Human beings, having our own way of being not so reliable, we need a system in place that checks that reliability. LOESCHER: The result, of course, was upon re-entry, gases heated to thousands of degrees, penetrated the wing and melted it from the inside out. Columbia disintegrated, killing all on board, who were never told about the danger they were in.
SEAN O'KEEFE, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: The range of emotions that moved from enthusiasm and great pride over what was an extremely successful mission, it suddenly in an instant turned to just tragedy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOESCHER: The chairman of the House Subcommittee on Space says Congress will have to knock some heads and let some people go to change NASA, which he says has become a huge blob of bureaucracy.
We're live in Washington. I'm Skip Loescher.
Carol -- back to you.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Skip.
And we're told that report will be released about 10:00 Eastern Time this morning, and, of course, you can watch the whole thing unfold, as we bring it to you live right here on CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
