NASA report details last moments of Columbia crew

The seven shuttle astronauts who died were in an 'unsurvivable' situation. But the space agency cites several equipment flaws in the 2003 disaster.

(LA Times) - Poor design of their pressure suits led the seven astronauts aboard the Columbia space shuttle to black out almost immediately as the craft started breaking apart during reentry in 2003, and they were probably killed by the violent contortions, a NASA panel said Tuesday.

Other design flaws with seat belts, helmets and parachutes also could have caused their deaths if they had survived the depressurization and intense buffeting, the panel said in its final report on the incident.