2003 Space Shuttle Columbia Tragedy: Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) Final Report, August 2003 - The Gehman Board Report to NASA on the ... and NASA Return to Flight Plan (CD-ROM)

This CD-ROM provides a high-resolution Adobe Acrobat PDF version of the official final CAIB Report (Volume 1) as released by the Gehman Panel on August 26, 2003. (The National Technical Information Service (NTIS) is selling the CD-ROM version of the CAIB report for $45, making our version a full sixty percent cheaper.) Plus, our disc includes two additional major reports:

OFFICIAL WORKING ACCIDENT SCENARIO REPORT (FINAL TECHNICAL REPORT JULY 2003) - The official technical report released by the CAIB as the engineering report on the facts of the accident, with special emphasis on the tank foam impact during launch and potential damage to the left wing. The preface to the report states: "This Working Scenario report was written to document the collection of known facts, events, timelines, and historical information of particular interest to the final flight of Columbia. The report was written with the understanding that it could be published, either in part or in its entirety, as part of the official Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) report. The report includes information and results from numerous analyses, tests, and simulations related to the Columbia investigation." The highly detailed and well-illustrated Working Scenario report includes nearly 100 pages with color illustrations. The report includes 13 tables and 136 illustrations, figures, color photos, and line drawings. NASA RETURN TO FLIGHT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN - The official NASA response to the CAIB report dated September 8, 2003 - NASA's Implementation Plan for Return to Flight and Beyond. It covers every technical aspect of the challenging tasks ahead: ET Thermal Protection Modifications * Orbiter Hardening * RCC Nondestructive Inspection * TPS On-Orbit Inspect and Repair * Entry with Minor Damage * RCC Database * Minimizing Zinc Primer Leaching * RCC Spares * Modeling Reviews * Ground-Based Imagery * Downlink Post-Separation * On-Vehicle Ascent Imagery * Modular Auxiliary Data System Redesign * Enhance Wiring Inspection Capability * SRB Bolt Catcher * Closeout Inspection * Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris Risk * Foreign Object Debris Processes * Scheduling * Mission Management Team Improvements * Independent Technical Engineering Authority * Safety and Mission Assurance Organization * Reorganize Space Shuttle Integration Office * more World Spaceflight News has covered the Space Shuttle program since its inception, and we had the unfortunate duty of reporting on the Challenger tragedy in 1986. We had hoped that such a profound disaster would never occur again. America will always remember the courageous efforts of the brave crew of Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark, and Ilan Ramon.