Jan. 16, 2003, 3:39 p.m. - Jan. 16, 2003, 3:39 p.m.
STS-107 was the 113th flight of the Space Shuttle program, and the disastrous final flight of Space Shuttle Columbia. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 16, 2003, and during its 15 days, 22 hours, 20 minutes, 32 seconds in orbit conducted a multitude of international scientific experiments.
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS). Five complete Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles were built and flown on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011.
Space Shuttle Columbia (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-102) was the first space-rated orbiter in NASA's Space Shuttle fleet. It launched for the first time on mission STS-1 on April 12, 1981, the first flight of the Space Shuttle program. Over 22 years of service, it completed 27 missions before disintegrating during re-entry near the end of its 28th mission, STS-107 on February 1, 2003, resulting in the deaths of all seven crew members.
Space Shuttle Details
Date of
Birth: July 12, 1957
Date of Death:
Feb. 1, 2003
Date of
Birth: Sept. 23, 1961
Date of Death:
Feb. 1, 2003
Date of
Birth: April 16, 1956
Date of Death:
Feb. 1, 2003
Date of
Birth: June 20, 1954
Date of Death:
Feb. 1, 2003
Date of
Birth: March 10, 1961
Date of Death:
Feb. 1, 2003
Date of
Birth: March 17, 1962
Date of Death:
Feb. 1, 2003
Date of
Birth: Dec. 28, 1959
Date of Death:
Feb. 1, 2003
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA have many launch facilities but most are inactive. The most commonly used pad will be LC-39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
INFO WIKITwenty years ago, the space shuttle Columbia broke apart high over Texas on the way to landing in Florida, killing a crew of seven astronauts in a tragedy with long-lasting consequences that still reverberate across the space program.
"We all know that to engineer is human."
The agency will honor members of the NASA family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery, including the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, leading up to, and during, the agenc…