CNN Originals, gutted by budget cuts, soldiers on with new space shuttle Columbia series

When people recognize veteran journalist Miles O’Brien from his days covering aviation for CNN, they often thank him for his coverage of the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. O’Brien has to politely correct those grateful fans. He was on CNN's air for 16 consecutive hours covering the demise of the space shuttle Columbia, which broke up in the sky over Texas on Feb. 1, 2003, as it reentered Earth's atmosphere. The seven astronauts on board died after 16 days in orbit.

, which is in the public domain, and the network’s own video. From the moment of liftoff, the documentary shows, there were questions about the impact of a piece of lightweight foam that peeled off the rocket launcher and hit the left wing of the reusable spacecraft, which had been on 27 previous missions.

's failure to act on it — even resisting the use of spy satellites to examine the damage — is a dark chapter in the space program's storied history. The vintage images are supplemented with new, haunting interviews of employees, some of whom are speaking publicly for the first time about Columbia; and family members of the crew, including the grown children of two of the astronauts. O’Brien, now a science correspondent for 'PBS NewsHour' and a CNN analyst, provides an eyewitness account throughout the series. As the head of CNN's six-person science unit — shut down during a previous era of cost-cutting — he was immersed in the shuttle program. The memory is somber for him.

sources, but never raised the issue during his CNN coverage as to how the strike might endanger the mission — a decision he deeply regrets. 'I didn’t push for that story like I should have,' O'Brien said in a recent interview. 'I thought about it many times. The minute there was no communication with Houston, I knew what it was.' The missed opportunity has troubled him for 20 years. 'In a small way I share in the guilt,' O'Brien said. 'I carry it with me.

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