Six months after the space shuttle Columbia broke apart over Texas, experts concluded that the immediate cause of the February 1 disaster was an errant piece of insulating foam—but that the fundamental fault lay with the space agency itself. “NASA’s organizational culture had as much to do with this accident as foam did,” the Columbia Accident Investigation Board declared in its 248-page report, released in August.

The final report from the Columbia Accident Investigation Board is due this month, and NASA meanwhile is conducting its own review in preparation for a return to flight. Both are expected to point the finger at a chunk of foam insulation that struck the shuttle's wing during launch.