The Space Shuttle That Fell To Earth on ABC and ABC iview S1E3 – Sixteen minutes from landing, Mission Control lose contact with the crew of Columbia.
On the shuttle landing strip, families waiting to welcome their loved ones back home are swiftly ushered away. In the skies over Texas, locals hear a loud explosion and debris strikes the ground in multiple locations. The fears of some NASA engineers are coming true. Columbia is lost and there are no survivors.
Following the disaster, NASA comes under increasing pressure from the media to provide answers. During the investigation that follows, managers make the case that foam damaging the heat protection tiles was not considered to be a threat to the shuttle or the crew.
But when a test shows that foam moving at high speed can puncture the heat protection system, NASA faces criticism for its flawed safety culture and management failures. And as astronauts’ families remember their loved ones, the future of the entire shuttle programme is suddenly called into question
Production credit: Mindhouse Productions
The Space Shuttle That Fell To Earth on ABC and ABC iview – Monday 25 November at 8.30pm
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The Space Shuttle That Fell To Earth on ABC and ABC iview S1E3
