NASA's space shuttle Columbia was destroyed during re-entry on Feb. The crew died as the shuttle disintegrated. The astronauts probably survived the initial breakup of Columbia, but lost consciousness in seconds (opens in new tab) after the cabin lost pressure. Much later, in 2008, NASA released a crew survival report detailing the Columbia crew's last few minutes. Among the recovered material were crew remains, which were identified with DNA. NASA eventually recovered 84,000 pieces, representing nearly 40 percent of Columbia by weight. The search for debris took weeks, as it was shed over a zone of some 2,000 square miles (5,180 square kilometers) in east Texas alone. In all, 84,800 pounds, or 38 percent of the total dry weight of Columbia, was recovered. 1, 2003 shuttle disaster, which killed seven astronauts, were recovered. More than 82,000 pieces of debris from the Feb. Pieces of Columbia space shuttle debris are seen stored in a hangar at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida during accident investigation in 2003. "This is indeed a tragic day for the NASA family, for the families of the astronauts who flew on STS-107, and likewise is tragic for the nation," stated NASA's administrator at the time, Sean O'Keefe. Later that day, NASA declared the astronauts lost. Shortly afterward, NASA declared a space shuttle "contingency" and sent search and rescue teams to the suspected debris sites in Texas and later, Louisiana. The caller said a television network was showing a video of the shuttle breaking up in the sky. Twelve minutes later, when Columbia should have been making its final approach to the runway, a mission controller received a phone call. Mission Control made several attempts to get in touch with the astronauts, with no success. At 8:59:32 a.m., Husband called back from Columbia: "Roger," followed by a word that was cut off in mid-sentence.Īt that point, Columbia was near Dallas, traveling 18 times the speed of sound and still 200,700 feet (61,170 meters) above the ground. The Capcom, or spacecraft communicator, called up to Columbia to discuss the tire pressure readings. This image was received by NASA as part of the Columbia accident investigation and is being analyzed. The image was taken at approximately 7:57 a.m. 1, 2003, as it passed by the Starfire Optical Range, Directed Energy Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. This image is a view of the underside of Columbia during its entry from mission STS-107 on Feb. Then, tire pressure readings from the left side of the shuttle also vanished. Temperature readings from sensors located on the left wing were lost. EST, however, abnormal readings showed up at Mission Control. 1, 2003, the shuttle made its usual landing approach to the Kennedy Space Center. The landing proceeded without further inspection. ![]() However, NASA officials in charge declined the offer, according to the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (opens in new tab) (CAIB) and "Comm Check," a 2008 book by space journalists Michael Cabbage and William Harwood, about the disaster. The Department of Defense was reportedly prepared to use its orbital spy cameras to get a closer look. Several people within NASA pushed to get pictures of the breached wing in orbit. It was later found that a hole on the left wing allowed atmospheric gases to bleed into the shuttle as it went through its fiery re-entry, leading to the loss of the sensors and eventually, Columbia itself and the astronauts inside. ![]() Video from the launch appeared to show the foam striking Columbia's left wing. About 82 seconds after Columbia left the ground, a piece of foam fell from a "bipod ramp" that was part of a structure that attached the external tank to the shuttle. What caused the space shuttle Columbia disaster?ĭuring the crew's 16 days in space, NASA investigated a foam strike that took place during launch.
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