Investigators working to determine the cause of the space shuttle Columbia disaster are expecting to reveal some serious problems with NASA’s program that oversees shuttle safety. The investigation team interviewed 72 NASA employees and contractors over a period of months and learned there were serious gaps in the agency when it came to safety. Some inspections had been removed to cut costs; quality assurance staff weren’t allowed to perform “spot checks”; and the agency was using hopelessly outdated testing equipment.
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