• July 3, 2003

On the July 7 edition of Primetime, ABC News correspondent Charles Gibson reports on the ongoing investigation into the space shuttle Columbia disaster, an inquiry, which continues to raise questions about, mixed signals and missed opportunities. "Columbia: Final Mission" also provides a look at what went on behind the scenes during the ill-fated mission -- both on the ground and aboard the doomed spacecraft. Gibson interviews key players in the tragic story -- including top officials at NASA and the head of the investigative board -- about what went wrong and whether anything could or should have been done differently. For the first time, viewers will hear from a NASA engineer who had raised serious concerns about the damage incurred during lift-off. Never-before-seen home video shot by one of the astronauts just prior to the launch, as well as other footage, add insight into the astronauts' emotions prior to and during their mission. Flight Director LeRoy Cain and mechanical systems officer Jeff Kling are among those who describe, in vivid detail, the emotions inside Mission Control when NASA officials began to realize that Columbia and its seven-crew members were not coming home. "It's one of those moments in your life where you say, 'I can't believe this is happening,'" says Cain. When troubling data began coming in during the shuttle's descent, it became apparent to NASA structural engineer Rodney Rocha that his worst fears were being realized.