Search results for

Troubleshooters are expected to scrutinize the shuttle Columbia's auxiliary power units, which help provide power to the orbiter's steering mechanisms during descent -- a task that requires highly flammable fuel. NPR's Howard Berkes joins host Steve Inskeep to talk about the role APUs play in reentry and why their redesign had been on NASA's to-do list. (This is a repeat from earlier in the show.)

Talk of the Nation/Science Friday host Ira Flatow joins host Steve Inskeep to talk about how NASA has adapted since the 1986 Challenger disaster.

NPR's Jackie Northam reports on the disaster's impact on America's contribution to the international space station. (This is a repeat from earlier in the show.)

Florida Senator Bill Nelson flew on the last shuttle mission before the 1986 Challenger explosion and joins host Steve Inkseep to share his perspective as a former astronaut and Floridian.

NPR's John Burnett rejoins Steve Inskeep from the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, where NASA missions are directed and its people are considered to be friends and family. The front gate of the space center there has become a place to gather and mourn, as Ground Zero did after Sept. 11.

NPR's Andy Bowers reports from Palmdale, Calif., where the space shuttle Columbia was upgraded in 2001. Palmdale is near Edwards Air Force Base, which was the original landing site during the space shuttle program's infancy. It is still the alternate landing site.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden profiles the seven astronauts who perished aboard the space shuttle Columbia. (This is a repeat from earlier in the show.)

Host Steve Inskeep reviews what is known so far about the Columbia disaster.

Robert Siegel and Lynn Neary read from some of this week's letters from listeners. Among this week's topics: our series on prayer, a report on water-efficient appliances and a religious sect's claim of human cloning.

Normal West and Normal Community high schools are proving there’s a lot more to music this Halloween than “The Addams Family” and “Monster Mash.”