| COMM CHECK... The Final Flight of Shuttle Columbia Michael Cabbage William Harwood New York: Free Press, 2004 |
Rating: 5.0 High |
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| ISBN 0-7432-6091-0 | 320p. | HC/BWI | $26.00 | |
Columbia, the first space shuttle to fly, was lost 1 February 2003 when it broke apart over Texas on reentry. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) released its report on 26 August of that year. NASA now is implementing the board's recommendations and struggling to return the remaining shuttles to flight as soon as possible in order to complete the International Space Station.
This book documents the causes of the disaster, traces the progress of the investigation, and chronicles significant events that occurred after its report was made public. An Epilogue lays out the various options for future space activities.
Michael Cabbage has reported on 40 shuttle missions and is now space editor for the Orlando Sentinel. William Harwood, a veteran of 107 shuttle missions, is senior space consultant for CBS News, and also covers space for the Washington Post. Cabbage and Harwood have done a solid and very detailed job of reporting on the Columbia disaster and its implications for the future. The text is supplemented by 42 black and white photographs. Three appendices present a roster of people significant to the investigation, a list of common aerospace acronyms, and the recommendations of the CAIB. A thorough index rounds out the book.
From the Epilogue (page 296):
The lesson of the Columbia disaster is clear to all but the most diehard supporters. The shuttle should be retired as soon as possible. Spending a half-billion dollars a flight because the nation is unwilling to make the up-front investment in a new means of reaching space is penny-wise and pound-foolish. Sooner or later, another mishap is inevitable, and without another option in the wings, America's manned space program will very likely collapse. Many believe the space shuttle program survived the Columbia disaster only because there was a crew aboard the International Space Station and the money the project funnels into congressional districts across the United States. |
Comm Check is an excellent resource on the disaster and NASA. Highly recommended.
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