The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on 01 February 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entering Earth's atmosphere. The tragedy resulted in the loss of all seven crew members on board. The shuttle had completed its mission, STS-107, and was returning to Earth when it experienced a catastrophic failure.
During the launch, a piece of foam insulation had struck the left wing of the shuttle, damaging the thermal protection system. However, the severity of the damage wasn't fully recognized during the mission. As Columbia re-entered the atmosphere, hot gases penetrated the damaged wing, leading to the destruction of the spacecraft.
The crew members who lost their lives in the Columbia disaster were:
- Rick D. Husband (Commander)
- William C. McCool (Pilot)
- Michael P. Anderson (Payload Commander)
- Kalpana Chawla (Mission Specialist)
- David M. Brown (Mission Specialist)
- Laurel B. Clark (Mission Specialist)
- Ilan Ramon (Payload Specialist, the first Israeli astronaut)
The tragedy had a profound impact on NASA and led to a reevaluation of safety protocols and procedures for future space shuttle missions.
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