Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight

This a near perfect documentary. Every American should know the story of STS 107 and Space Shuttle Columbia. STS-107 was the 113th flight of the Space Shuttle program, and the 28th and final flight of Space Shuttle Columbia. The mission ended on February 1, 2003, with the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster which killed all seven crew members and destroyed the space shuttle. It was the 88th post-Challenger disaster mission. The stories from the families will make you cry. The management issues with NASA will make you want to break something; however, the sacrifice these brave Americans made is what will stay with you. RIP.

"Space Shuttle Columbia" (4/7/24, 4 eps, 42-min, CNN) They presented a safe, respectful, testimonial of the events leading to the disastrous re-entry of this shuttle in Feb 2003. As you may imagine Part 1 was devoted to the crew and its background. Part 2 was more about the mission itself. Part 3 documented the disaster itself and Part 4 the ensuing investigation. I was most interested in Parts 3 and 4, the latter of which was most disappointing since the final investigatory report's impact wasn't made fully clear. Were the top managers responsible for the culture of silence ultimately removed? Were any sued? Apparently there was no criminal investigation. There were alot of loose ends dangling in this treatment after 20 years and that's just a poor experience.

The series does an excellent job of setting up the mission and detailing early on the foam strike event that we would all come to understand as the cause.

It also does an excellent job of giving the families of the astronauts an opportunity to tell us what they went through and where they ended up from an emotional standpoint.

I rated it a 9 for two reasons: one negative and one positive. The negative reason it has a nine instead of a 10 is because they could have delved further into the poor decisions from management and the culture that helped create those decisions. Where did that culture come from? If that culture has changed, how has this been accomplished? I think they let certain individuals go without the scrutiny their decisions deserve.

However it does earn the 9 because it explores the human side of the families of the astronauts as well as the people at NASA who tried to shed light on the situation. The people who were interviewed from NASA all stated they shared in the responsibility and that's a heavy burden not only to bear but to publicly accept.

Regarding the families, Mrs Husband in particular is a tremendous example of understanding your life is different while understanding that you must keep going and look for joy. This is what I was left with at the end. The wisdom that almost only comes from pain.

I was not expecting so much! We've heard a lot about it before - but this definitely covers it very very well - and more than the technical facts, or failures - this show looks through the eyes of the families - and that's where it truly shines! All of their stories are amazing, touching, and significant - but Iain Clark's story is like a movie in itself. Regardless - take the time, watch it all - it's both tragic, heartbreaking, and a bit infuriating. But it's very very good. This was really well done. And again the families are all sooooooo good - but Iain Clark could be a movie! And if anyone ever builds a Time Machine - it'll probably be him.