In July 2011, the space shuttle program, which began with the Columbia’s first mission in 1981, completed its final (and 135th) mission, flown by Atlantis.WASHINGTON - Seat restraints, pressure suits and helmets of the doomed crew of the space shuttle Columbia didn't work well, leading to 'lethal trauma' as the out-of-control ship lost pressure and broke apart, killing all seven astronauts, a new NASA report says. In the aftermath of the Columbia disaster, the space shuttle program was grounded until July 26, 2005, when the space shuttle Discovery was launched on the program’s 114th mission. The Columbia could have stayed in orbit until February 15 and the already planned launch of the shuttle Atlantis could have been moved up as early as February 10, leaving a short window for repairing the wing or getting the crew off of the Columbia. In August 2003, an investigation board issued a report revealing that it would have been possible either for the Columbia crew to repair the damage to the wing or for the crew to be rescued from the shuttle. Strangely, worms the crew had used in a study and which were stored in a canister aboard the Columbia did survive. Making the tragedy even worse, two pilots aboard a search helicopter were killed in a crash while looking for debris. Debris and the remains of the crew were found in more than 2,000 locations across East Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. Residents in the area heard a loud boom and saw streaks of smoke in the sky. the shuttle disintegrated over northeast Texas, near Dallas. One minute later, the last communication from the crew of five men and two women was heard, and at 9 a.m. The first debris began falling to the ground in West Texas near Lubbock at 8:58 a.m. Because the heat-resistant tiles covering the left wing’s leading edge had been damaged or were missing, wind and heat entered the wing and blew it apart. It wasn’t until 10 minutes later, at 8:53 a.m.-as the shuttle was 231,000 feet above the California coastline traveling at 23 times the speed of sound-that the first indications of trouble began. Space Shuttle Columbia DisasterĬolumbia re-entered the earth’s atmosphere on the morning of February 1, 2003. Their concerns were not addressed in the two weeks that Columbia spent in orbit because NASA management believed that even if major damage had been caused, there was little that could be done to remedy the situation. The program’s five shuttles (Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, Endeavour) flew more than 542 million miles.Ĭameras focused on the launch sequence revealed the foam collision but engineers could not pinpoint the location and extent of the damage.Īlthough similar incidents had occurred on three prior shuttle launches without causing critical damage, some engineers at the space agency believed that damage to a wing could cause a catastrophic failure.

Columbia finally launched on January 16, 2003, with a crew of seven.Įighty seconds into the launch, a piece of foam insulation broke off from the shuttle’s propellant tank and hit the edge of the shuttle’s left wing.ĭid you know? During the 30-year space shuttle program, 355 astronauts traveled aboard the shuttle.

The Columbia’s 28th space mission, designated STS-107, was originally scheduled to launch on January 11, 2001, but was delayed numerous times for a variety of reasons over nearly two years.

2003 space shuttle columbia