The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003,
when shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission,
STS-107, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during
re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in the death of all
seven crew members. Debris from Columbia fell to Earth in Texas
along a path stretching from Trophy Club to Tyler, as well as into
parts of Louisiana.
The loss of Columbia was a result of damage sustained during launch
when a piece of foam insulation the size of a small briefcase broke
off from the Space Shuttle external tank (the main propellant tank)
under the aerodynamic forces of launch. The debris struck the
leading edge of the left wing, damaging the Shuttle's thermal
protection system (TPS), which shields it from heat generated with
the atmosphere during re-entry. While Columbia was still in orbit,
some engineers suspected damage, but NASA managers limited the
investigation, on the grounds that little could be done even if
problems were found.[1]
NASA's original Shuttle design specifications stated that the
external tank was not to shed foam or other debris; as such,
strikes upon the Shuttle itself were safety issues that needed to
be resolved before a launch was cleared. Launches were often given
the go-ahead as engineers came to see the foam shedding and debris
strikes as inevitable and unresolvable, with the rationale that
they were either not a threat to safety, or an acceptable risk. The
majority of Shuttle launches recorded such foam strikes and thermal
tile scarring.[2] During re-entry of STS-107, the damaged area
allowed the hot gases to penetrate and destroy the internal wing
structure,[3] rapidly causing the in-flight breakup of the vehicle.
An extensive ground search in parts of Texas, Louisiana, and
Arkansas recovered crew remains and many vehicle fragments.
Mission STS-107 was the 113th Space Shuttle launch. It was delayed
18 times[4] over the two years from its original launch date of
January 11, 2001, to its actual launch date of January 16, 2003.
(It was preceded by STS-113.) A launch delay due to cracks in the
shuttle's propellant distribution system occurred one month before
a July 19, 2002, launch date. The Columbia Accident Investigation
Board (CAIB) determined that this delay had nothing to do with the
catastrophic failure six months later.[4]
The Columbia Accident Investigation Board's recommendations
addressed both technical and organizational issues. Space Shuttle
flight operations were delayed for two years by the disaster,
similar to the Challenger disaster. Construction of the
International Space Station was put on hold, and for 29 months the
station relied entirely on the Russian Federal Space Agency for
resupply until Shuttle flights resumed with STS-114 and 41 months
for crew rotation until STS-121.
This is my Oldest First Cache so we want things with some kind
of leason.. He was 3 When this happened and I thought by reading
this you would learn some history too.. good Luck Not to hard..
Congrats to LPRedSoxfan oops I mean LPYankeeFan on FTF..