NASA was preparing for the Space Shuttle Columbia to return to Earth and land in Florida on February 1, 2003, when something went terribly wrong. The spacecraft broke apart over Texas, killing everyone on board.
The disaster unfolded during the shuttle’s descent through Earth’s atmosphere. Debris was reported across several states.
Columbia carried seven astronauts on a mission that began on January 16, 2003. Commander Rick D. Husband, Payload Commander Michael P. Anderson, Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Blair Salton Clark and David M. Brown, Pilot William McCool, and Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon were all killed in the tragedy.
The Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart
Around 82 seconds after liftoff, a piece of insulating foam approximately the size of a suitcase detached from Columbia’s external fuel tank and struck its left wing, according to VT.
The wing’s heat-resistant protection, intended to protect the shuttle from severe temperatures, was damaged. Engineers had raised concerns, but it wasn’t considered bad enough to end the mission.
When the shuttle began its return to Earth on February 1, the damaged wing became a critical weakness. Superheated gases penetrated the compromised protection, causing the spacecraft’s structure to deteriorate as it passed through the atmosphere.
Mission Control began receiving unusual sensor readings at 8:52 a.m. Four temperature sensors in Columbia’s left wing appeared to have stopped working.
Readings soon indicated problems involving the temperatures and pressures of the landing gear tires. NASA repeatedly attempted to contact the crew as the situation worsened.
Commander Husband said “Roger” and “uh, buh…”, before the transmission ended, marking the last words heard from Columbia’s crew, according to VT.
NASA realized the shuttle was gone
The absence of a radar signal confirmed the worst fears of those monitoring the mission. The spacecraft was no longer on its expected approach, and there was no hope of bringing the astronauts home.
Entry Flight Director LeRoy Cain later said: “That was the absolute black-and-white end. If the radar is looking and there’s nothing coming over the horizon, the vehicle is not there.”
Approximately 12 minutes after Columbia broke apart, NASA’s response shifted toward securing evidence and preparing for an investigation. At around 9:12 a.m., Cain instructed Ground Control Officer Bill Foster to “lock the doors,” according to the Daily Star.
The order set NASA’s emergency protocols in motion. Flight controllers had to stay inside Mission Control, secure mission data, and record everything for the investigation. They were also instructed to halt all communications and data transfers.
Columbia’s final moments
Cain issued the following instruction to the flight controllers: “OK, all flight controllers on the Flight loop, we need to kick off the FCOH [Flight Control Operations Handbook] contingency plan procedure, FCOH checklist, page 2.8-5. No phone calls, no data, in or out,” according to the outlet.
The order signified a turning point as NASA moved from trying to understand the unfolding emergency to protecting the information needed to determine its cause.
A large-scale recovery effort was launched in the aftermath of the disaster, with the remains of all seven astronauts eventually found. A separate NASA report published in 2008 later examined what the crew likely experienced during the accident.
Its findings indicated that the astronauts were probably conscious during the initial loss of control. The crew cabin rapidly lost pressure around the time the spacecraft disintegrated, which likely caused them to lose consciousness within seconds.
The Columbia disaster remains one of the most devastating events in the history of the U.S. space program.
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