Table of Contents
Foreword Robert Crippen ix
Preface to the Paperback Edition xiii
Part I Parallel Confusion
Chapter 1 Silence and Shock 3
Chapter 2 Good Things Come to People Who Wait 7
Chapter 3 The Foam Strike 25
Chapter 4 Landing Day 36
Part II Courage, Compassion, and Commitment
Chapter 5 Recovery Day 1 51
Chapter 6 Assessing the Situation 88
Chapter 7 Searching for the Crew 107
Part III Picking Up the Pieces
Chapter 8 Columbia Is Going Home in a Coffin 139
Chapter 9 Walkers, Divers, and Spotters 167
Chapter 10 Their Mission Became Our Mission 191
Chapter 11 Reconstructing Columbia 206
Part IV A Bittersweet Victory
Chapter 12 Healing and Closure 237
Chapter 13 Preserving and Learning from Columbia 252
Chapter 14 The Beginning of the End 264
Chapter 15 Celebrating 25,000 Heroes 280
Epilogue Eileen Collins 291
Authors' Notes and Acknowledgments 297
Interviewees 301
Acronyms and Technical Terms 309
Notes 317
Index 337
About the Authors 355