From the archives: Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on Feb. 1, 2003

Wednesday marks 20 years since NASA’s Space Shuttle Columbia disaster that killed seven astronauts on board. On Feb. 1, 2003, the space shuttle was expected to land at 9:16 a.m. ET, but mission control in Houston lost contact with Columbia at around 9 a.m. ET. Shortly thereafter, debris was reported in the skies above Texas. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board later found the likely source of the accident was damage to the left wing caused by the left bipod foam ramp that broke off during takeoff. This damaged the protective tiles on the spacecraft and allowed hot gases to penetrate and melt major structural elements of the wing upon re-entry. Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark, and Ilan Ramon died in the tragedy. CBS anchor Russ Mitchell reported on the breaking story from the studio, joined by CBS News space consultant Bill Harwood at Kennedy Space Center.

#archives #nasa #columbia

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