Space Shuttle Columbia
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/KSC-107-Rollout_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-KSC-107-Rollout_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102) was a spacecraft used by NASA to fly into outer space. It was the first Space Shuttle to fly into space, on April 12, 1981. It broke apart while re-entering the Earth's atmosphere on February 1, 2003, killing all seven people who were on it at the time. The shuttle flew a total of 28 missions. The Columbia was named after a US Navy ship that circumnavigated the world in 1836.[1] It was also the name of the Apollo 11 Lunar Excursion Module.
Cause of destruction
[change | change source]A piece of insulating foam from the external fuel tank peeled off during the launch 16.0 days earlier and struck the shuttle's left wing.[2]
A hole was punctured in the leading edge of the wing. During the intense heat of re-entry, hot gases entered the interior of the wing, destroying the support structures and causing the rest of the shuttle to break apart.[3]
Crew
[change | change source]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Crew_of_STS-107%2C_official_photo.jpg/250px-Crew_of_STS-107%2C_official_photo.jpg)
- Commander: Rick D. Husband, a U.S. Air Force colonel and mechanical engineer, who piloted a previous shuttle during the first docking with the International Space Station (STS-96).
- Pilot: William C. McCool, a U.S. Navy commander
- Payload Commander: Michael P. Anderson, a U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel and physicist who was in charge of the science mission.
- Payload Specialist: Ilan Ramon, a colonel in the Israeli Air Force and the first Israeli astronaut.
- Mission Specialist: Kalpana Chawla, an Indian-born aerospace engineer on her second space mission.
- Mission Specialist: David M. Brown, a U.S. Navy captain trained as an aviator and flight surgeon. Brown worked on a number of scientific experiments.
- Mission Specialist: Laurel Clark, a U.S. Navy captain and flight surgeon. Clark worked on a number of biological experiments.
Missions
[change | change source]# | Date | Designation | Launch pad | Landing location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 12 April 1981 | STS-1 | 39-A | Edwards Air Force Base | First Shuttle mission |
2 | 12 November 1981 | STS-2 | 39-A | Edwards Air Force Base | First re-use of manned space vehicle |
3 | 22 March 1982 | STS-3 | 39-A | White Sands Space Harbor | First mission with an unpainted External tank. Only time that a space shuttle has landed at the White Sands Space Harbor. This launch was dedicated by Ronald Reagan to "the people of Afghanistan". |
4 | 27 June 1982 | STS-4 | 39-A | Edwards Air Force Base | Last shuttle R&D flight |
5 | 11 November 1982 | STS-5 | 39-A | Edwards Air Force Base | First four-person crew, first deployment of commercial satellite. |
6 | 28 November 1983 | STS-9 | 39-A | Edwards Air Force Base | First six-person crew, first Spacelab. |
7 | 12 January 1986 | STS-61-C | 39-A | Edwards Air Force Base | Representative Bill Nelson (D-FL) on board/ final successful shuttle flight before Challenger disaster |
8 | 8 August 1989 | STS-28 | 39-B | Edwards Air Force Base | Launched KH-11 reconnaissance satellite |
9 | 9 January 1990 | STS-32 | 39-A | Edwards Air Force Base | Retrieved Long Duration Exposure Facility |
10 | 2 December 1990 | STS-35 | 39-B | Edwards Air Force Base | Carried multiple X-ray & UV telescopes |
11 | 5 June 1991 | STS-40 | 39-B | Edwards Air Force Base | 5th Spacelab - Life Sciences-1 |
12 | 25 June 1992 | STS-50 | 39-A | Kennedy Space Center | U.S. Microgravity Laboratory 1 (USML-1) |
13 | 22 October 1992 | STS-52 | 39-B | Kennedy Space Center | Deployed Laser Geodynamic Satellite II |
14 | 26 April 1993 | STS-55 | 39-A | Edwards Air Force Base | German Spacelab D-2 Microgravity Research |
15 | 18 October 1993 | STS-58 | 39-B | Edwards Air Force Base | Spacelab Life Sciences |
16 | 4 March 1994 | STS-62 | 39-B | Kennedy Space Center | United States Microgravity Payload-2 (USMP-2) |
17 | 8 July 1994 | STS-65 | 39-A | Kennedy Space Center | International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) |
18 | 20 October 1995 | STS-73 | 39-B | Kennedy Space Center | United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2) |
19 | 22 February 1996 | STS-75 | 39-B | Kennedy Space Center | Tethered Satellite System Reflight (TSS-1R) |
20 | 20 June 1996 | STS-78 | 39-B | Kennedy Space Center | Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS) |
21 | 19 November 1996 | STS-80 | 39-B | Kennedy Space Center | 3rd Wake Shield Facility flight/ longest Shuttle flight as of 2006 |
22 | 4 April 1997 | STS-83 | 39-A | Kennedy Space Center | Microgravity Science Laboratory (MSL)- cut short |
23 | 1 July 1997 | STS-94 | 39-A | Kennedy Space Center | Microgravity Science Laboratory (MSL)- reflight |
24 | 19 November 1997 | STS-87 | 39-B | Kennedy Space Center | United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-4) |
25 | 13 April 1998 | STS-90 | 39-B | Kennedy Space Center | Neurolab - Spacelab |
26 | 23 July 1999 | STS-93 | 39-B | Kennedy Space Center | Deployed Chandra X-ray Observatory |
27 | 1 March 2002 | STS-109 | 39-A | Kennedy Space Center | Hubble Space Telescope service mission (HSM-3B) |
28 | 16 January 2003 | STS-107 | 39-A | Did not land (Planned to land at Kennedy Space Center) | Earth science research mission. Shuttle destroyed during re-entry on 1 February 2003. All seven astronauts on board died. |
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Space Today Online - Space Shuttle Stories". spacetoday.org. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
- ↑ "Columbia's Problems Began on Left Wing". Space.com. Archived from the original on June 5, 2003. Retrieved February 26, 2008.
- ↑ "Molten Aluminum found on Columbia's thermal tiles". USA Today. Associated Press. March 4, 2003. Retrieved August 13, 2007.