Similar foam shedding had occurred during previous Space Shuttle launches, causing damage that ranged from minor to near-catastrophic, but some engineers suspected that the damage to Columbia was more serious. During launch, a piece of the insulating foam broke off from the Space Shuttle external tank and struck the thermal protection system tiles on the orbiter's left wing. It was dedicated to research in various fields, mainly on board the SpaceHab module inside the shuttle's payload bay. The mission, designated STS-107, was the twenty-eighth flight for the orbiter, the 113th flight of the Space Shuttle fleet and the 88th after the Challenger disaster. It was the second Space Shuttle mission to end in disaster, after the loss of Challenger and crew in 1986. On Saturday February 1, 2003, Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated as it reentered the atmosphere over Texas and Louisiana, killing all seven astronauts on board. The audio for this story was produced by Ziad Buchh and Mansee Khurana, and edited by Jan Johnson. 'We are very proud of the lessons that we've learned and we're incorporating them now.' Will lessons learned from tragedies like Columbia play a role in those efforts? NASA is now preparing for a new era of spaceflight, hoping its Artemis mission will put the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface by 2025. 'One of us became a parent, and some of us are now grandparents.' 'In the past twenty years, the Columbia families have had celebrations, and sorrow, and life experiences,' she said. Anderson.Įvelyn Husband Thompson, the wife of Columbia's commander, spoke on behalf of family members, according to HPM. From the left (bottom row), wearing red shirts to signify their shift's color, are Kalpana Chawla, Rick D. Getty Images A portrait of the STS-107 crewmembers aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia in early 2003. This year's had a special focus on the Columbia anniversary, as Houston Public Media reported. NASA holds an annual Day of Remembrance to honor astronauts who died in the line of duty. But beyond that, the key lesson that we learned from Columbia was around schedule pressure but also around organizational silence - making sure that voices are heard inside the agency that have concerns about safety and making sure that those concerns get elevated to the right decision-makers.' 'If people died for this knowledge, we're going to learn from it,' she said. She thinks the agency 'evolved more' after each of those incidents. Melroy says the Columbia disaster had a substantial impact on NASA, as did two other major disasters: the Apollo 1, which caught fire during a pre-launch test in 1967, and the Challenger, which exploded seconds after liftoff on Jan.

Getty Images NASA recovery team members watch as NASA's Orion Capsule approaches after splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, west of Baja, Calif., following a successful uncrewed Artemis I Moon Mission on December 11, 2022. Investigators called on NASA to be more proactive in its efforts and replace the shuttle with a new system, as well as for more government support. It also blamed 'cultural traits and organizational practices' for minimizing safety issues over the years, as well as low funding and strict scheduling.

It said there were things NASA could have done, like having the crew repair the wing damage or rescuing them from the shuttle. The report found that a hole on the left wing allowed atmospheric gasses to enter the shuttle during its reentry, which caused it to overheat and break apart. But the exact location and extent of the damage was not clearly visible to engineers, and NASA management reportedly did not address their concerns during the shuttle's time in space because they believed little could be done about it. Over the next few weeks, NASA recovered thousands of pieces of debris, including the crew members' remains, across parts of Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana.Īnd an investigation board released a report later that year detailing the physical and cultural problems behind the disaster.Ī piece of foam insulation had broken off the shuttle's propellant tank and hit the edge of its left wing just over a minute into its Jan. Getty Images Columbia Space Shuttle debris covers the floor of the RLV Hangar Kennedy Space Center, Florida in May 2003.

Space shuttle columbia disaster