Space Shuttle Columbia Tragedy 10 Years Later: Lessons Learned and Unlearned

On March 8, 2013, George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics held a day-long seminar to look back at the 2003 space shuttle Columbia (STS-107) tragedy and what lessons were learned, unlearned, or forgotten in its aftermath.   Speakers included Adm. Harold (Hal) Gehman, who chaired the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) and fellow CAIB member John Logsdon, along with many of the former astronauts and NASA officials who were on the frontline of recovering the remains of the crew and fragments of the space shuttle and helping CAIB determine the causes of the disaster.   This SpacePolicyOnline.com summary of the seminar by Laura Delgado and Marcia Smith was published on March 10.