This Date in Flight

The Space Shuttle Columbia accident occurred on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, with the loss of all seven crew members, shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission. The disaster was set in motion when a frozen piece of foam dislodged from the main propellant tank during launch, striking the left wing and damaging the leading edge. That damage allowed the heat from re-entry to enter the interior space of the wing and destroy the internal structure. Amazingly, a video recording of a portion of the re-entry, shot by the astronauts themselves, survives.

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