In 1981, Columbia became the first spacecraft of its type to fly in Earth orbit and successfully completed 27 missions over more than two decades. During the STS-107 mission, Columbia and its crew traveled more than six million miles in 16 days. The Orbiterʼs destruction, just 16 minutes before scheduled touchdown, shows that space flight is still far from routine. It involves a substantial element of risk, which must be recognized, but never accepted with resignation. The seven Columbia astronauts believed that the risk was worth the reward. The Board salutes their courage and dedicates this report to their memory. - Summary from the Board Report
Note: Volumes 2-6 are supporting documents and transcripts not included in this recording.
Chapters
1
Cover Explanation, In Memoriam, Board Statement Read by MaryAnn 11:47
2
Executive Summary, Report Synopsis Read by MaryAnn 22:54
3
An Introduction to the Space Shuttle, An Introduction to NASA Read by Availle 21:50
4
Pt 1: The Accident Ch 1: The Evolution of the Space Shuttle Program Read by Availle 35:20
5
Ch 2a: Columbia's Final Flight, part 1 Read by Maria Kasper 32:27
6
Ch 2b: Columbia's Final Flight, part 2 Read by Maria Kasper 32:50
7
Ch 2c: Columbia's Final Flight, part 3 Read by Maria Kasper 29:21
8
Mission Control Center Communications Read by Roger Melin 20:44
9
Ch 3a: Accident Analysis, part 1 Read by Norman Elfer 28:15
10
Foam Fracture Under Hydrostatic Pressure Read by Doug Sheppard 9:34
11
Ch 3b: Accident Analysis, part 2 Read by JudyDerby 20:57
12
Ch 3c: Accident Analysis, part 3 Read by Patrick McHaffie 29:55
13
Ch 3d: Accident Analysis, part 4 Read by Patrick McHaffie 48:50
14
Ch 3e: Accident Analysis, part 5 Read by Patrick McHaffie 29:51
15
Ch 3f: Accident Analysis, part 6 Read by Patrick McHaffie 27:57
16
Ch 4a: Other Factors Considered, part 1 Read by TriciaG 29:55
17
Ch 4b: Other Factors Considered, part 2 Read by TriciaG 30:47
18
Pt 2: Why the Accident Occurred, Ch 5a: From Challenger to Columbia, part 1 Read by Maria Kasper 41:13
19
Ch 5b: From Challenger to Columbia, part 2 Read by Maria Kasper 34:13
20
Ch 5c: From Challenger to Columbia, part 3 Read by Maria Kasper 37:41
21
Ch 6a: Decision Making at NASA, part 1 Read by Patrick McHaffie 41:22
22
Ch 6b: Decision Making at NASA, part 2 Read by Maria Kasper 27:14
23
Ch 6c: Decision Making at NASA, part 3 Read by Maria Kasper 35:34
24
Ch 6d: Decision Making at NASA, part 4 Read by Maria Kasper 24:20
25
Ch 6e: Decision Making at NASA, part 5 Read by Maria Kasper 27:31
26
Ch 6f: Decision Making at NASA, part 6 Read by Maria Kasper 27:05
27
Ch 6g: Decision Making at NASA, part 7 Read by Maria Kasper 34:29
28
Ch 6h: Decision Making at NASA, part 8 Read by Maria Kasper 36:50
29
Ch 6i: Decision Making at NASA, part 9 Read by Maria Kasper 9:38
30
Ch 7a: The Accident's Organizational Causes, part 1 Read by Norman Elfer 35:01
31
Ch 7b: The Accident's Organizational Causes, part 2 Read by Norman Elfer 31:36
32
Ch 7c: The Accident's Organizational Causes, part 3 Read by TriciaG 41:09
33
Ch 8a: History As Cause: Columbia and Challenger, part 1 Read by Richard Shipp 28:46
34
Ch 8b: History As Cause: Columbia and Challenger, part 2 Read by Richard Shipp 34:50
35
Pt 3: A Look Ahead, Ch 9: Implications for the Future of Human Space Flight Read by TriciaG 35:02
36
Ch 10a: Other Significant Observations, part 1 Read by Mark Chulsky 33:07
37
Ch 10b: Other Significant Observations, part 2 Read by Mark Chulsky 49:47
38
Ch 11: Recommendations Read by Doug Sheppard 13:26
From LibriVox, read by volunteers and in the public domain. LibriVox page (opens librivox.org) , the text (opens govinfo.library.unt.edu) , all files on the Internet Archive (opens archive.org) .
