The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster was the destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia over Texas on February 1, 2003 during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere on its 28th mission, STS-107. All seven members of the crew were killed.

The loss of the Columbia was caused by damage sustained during launch when foam insulation broke off the main propellant tank under the aerodynamic forces of launch. The debris struck the leading edge of the orbiter's left wing, damaging the shuttle's thermal protection system (TPS). While the shuttle 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.

During reentry, the damaged area allowed the hot gases to penetrate and destroy the internal wing structure, eventually causing the in-flight breakup of the vehicle. A massive ground search in parts of Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas recovered crew remains and many vehicle fragments.

The Columbia Accident Investigation Board's recommendations addressed both technical and organizational issues. The Space Shuttle program was set back over two years by the disaster, a delay comparable only to that resulting from the Challenger disaster.

Crew
The crew of STS-107.

    * Commander: Rick D. Husband, a US Air Force colonel and mechanical engineer, who piloted a previous shuttle during the first docking with the International Space Station.
    * Pilot: William C. McCool, a US Navy commander
    * Payload Commander: Michael P. Anderson, a US 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 US Navy captain trained as an aviator and flight surgeon. Brown worked on a number of scientific experiments.
    * Mission Specialist: Laurel Clark, a US Navy captain and flight surgeon. Clark worked on a number of biological experiments.

tragedija

da jos trageda bude veca, poginulo je 8 osoba a ne 7 , zena treca sa desne strane je nosila bebu u stomaku u sedmom mesecu, stvarno tragedija...

nice statue.....

R.I.P.... 

baksuz imala dete i poginuli su naravno oboje

  tuzno

  cak si i potpis posvetio njima lepo

zanjimljiva je predzanja slika, roover na marsu odaje postu posadi