Columbia - Final Voyage - The Last Flight of NASA's First Space Shuttle

The last flight of the space shuttle Columbia made worldwide headlines because it ended in disaster. But there is a lot more to the story of STS-107 than death and destruction. Philip Chien, with his first-hand knowledge of the shuttle program and its history, extensive personal contact with Columbia's crew, and long experience reporting on the behind-the-scenes workings of NASA, tells the whole story of Columbia's final mission, including details often overlooked:

• Based on extensive interviews, the personal stories of all seven of the astronauts, from an author who talked to them numerous times about growing up, their passion for flying, and their professional and personal lives.
• An account of how STS-107 was, above all else, a world-class science mission. In spite of the accident, a great deal of important science was performed, and results from some of the more than 80 experiments were even retrieved from the post-accident debris. Chien gives this "modest science mission" the respect it deserves.
• In detail that's both technically accurate and accessible to the general reader, descriptions of how the shuttle worked, and didn't-including the flaw in the shuttle's original design that doomed the mission and the crew, and that will have profound effects on the future of NASA's programs in manned flight.
• Hundreds of photos-many rare and never before published-including training photos, photos taken during launch and reentry, and photos of the science experiments.