Small Mistakes That Cost Millions To Fix

The Columbia Shuttle Catastrophe – $18 Billion

When Columbia took it’s 28th and final launch from earth, foam insulation broke off and damaged the shuttle’s left wing. NASA officials wanted to get a closer look to see how bad the damage was but senior officials denied the request.

The crew of 7 spent 16 days in space conducting experiments but when they reentered earth, the damage to the wing leaked flammable gasses into the shuttle and it exploded, killing all 7 crewmembers.