What Exactly Happened to the Space Shuttle Columbia???
4,515Facts about the space shuttle columbia disaster. The astronauts of the challenger crew were on a NASA mission, which came down from the sky & is now described as a falling star.
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Number 11: 27 previous missions
The Space Shuttle Columbia was the US’s first reusable spacecraft and had completed 27
successful missions.
Its inaugural launch was back in 1981, on the 20th anniversary of the first manned space flight. This was a happy coincidence: its original launching date was postponed due to software issues. The Columbia was in orbit for 8 whole months during that flight! And it circled earth 37 times before landing safely. The Columbia was repaired and reutilised multiple times, with no major incidents reported.
Number 10: The origins of its name
The Space Shuttle Columbia received its name from a small ship that had explored the Columbia River almost 200 years before. It was not the first vessel to be christened this way. One of the first US ships to travel across the globe was also named Columbia. Robert Grey was the original boat’s captain, and he would probably be surprised by the waves his small shuttle made across US history.
Number 9: The Columbia inspired a song
The shuttle’s first mission inspired the release of a song back in 1982. The band Rush was inspired by the astronauts who manned the flight and would go on to pen the song ‘Countdown’. They even added audio bits containing communications between ground control and the astronauts on board of the Columbia. The song was so popular at NASA that it was even used as a wakeup alarm for the same shuttle’s crew during its last successful mission. It was not reutilised during its last flight, so the 7 last astronauts to set foot on the Columbia did not get to listen to this track while in space.
Number 8: The STS-107 mission
Columbia’s last mission was dubbed the STS-107, and was meant to be a research expedition. Several scientific experiments took place during its space journey, lasting 16 whole days.
Most missions at that time were sent into space to finish constructing the International Space Station, but Columbia’s focus was purely scientifical. Divided into two shifts, the crew conducted experiments 24/7, managing to complete over 80 tests which included fluid physics and material sciences.
Number 7: The crew
During its last mission, seven astronauts were selected as the Columbia’s crew. The shuttle’s commander was Rick Husband, a Colonel who had over 3800 hours of flight in more than 40 different aircrafts. Willie McCool was the Columbia’s pilot. This was his very first shuttle mission. He was born in 1961 and had three small children, as well as a wife named Atilana. Michael Anderson was 43, a Lieutenant Colonel who had 211 hours in space before this mission. He had a wife and two children and was the shuttle’s payload commander.
Number 6: Shuttle’s launch
Apparently, during the Columbia’s last launch, a piece of foam fell from a ramp attached to the shuttle during takeoff. There’s video evidence that this piece of debris hit the shuttle’s left wing hard enough to leave, at least, a dent.
Number 5: Reentry into Earth’s atmosphere
Everything seemed normal at first, but as the reentry came to an end, NASA lost contact with the crew somewhere over Texas. Husband, Columbia’s commander, replied to the call, but only managed to say “Roger” communications were abruptly interrupted. The Columbia was aimlessly falling at 18 times the speed of sound at that time, 200700 feet away from the Earth’s surface. No one would answer Mission Control’s calls from that moment on.
Number 4: The Search
Only 40% of the shuttle was retrieved, and NASA was able to identify the crew through DNA testing. It seems there might still be more pieces from the Columbia to be found around the Texas and Louisiana territory.
Number 3: The investigation
A board of experts was set up for the sole objective of investigating the incident. The piece of foam which was noticed striking the shuttle was determined to be the most likely culprit.
Number 2: Concerns
This happened because the restraints failed to lock. Their helmets weren’t adequate to sustain this level of trauma either. Worse still, the parachutes in their pressure suits have to be manually activated.
Number 1: Its Legacy
The Columbia’s crew will not be easily forgotten. Each year a public tribute is conducted during NASA’s day of remembrance. This day is set between the last week of January or the first of February. The reason is not exactly uplifting.
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