This critical study of NASA's space shuttle program provides an in-depth examination of the events, decisions, and policies that may have contributed to the horrific destruction of the shuttles
Challenger
and
Columbia
. It first traces the early development of NASA's shuttle program, specifically examining the problems associated with the designs of shuttles OV-099 (which was to become
) and OV-102 (which was to become
).
The reader is then taken through a detailed look at the first successful flights made by
and the cancellation of top-secret Shuttle flight 51-C (which would have launched under nearly identical weather conditions as the ill-fated
). An in-depth assessment of the shuttles' disastrous final launches follows, including detailed accounts of the post-flight search and rescue operations, the official investigations into each accident, and the impact of each disaster on the future of NASA's manned space program.