Exactly 20 years ago, on February 1, 2003, seven astronauts six Americans and one Israeli died in one of NASA’s greatest tragedies: the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated in US skies just minutes before the expected landing.
To honor the victims and all astronauts who have already lost their lives in space missions, NASA stopped in Florida on the last day, April 27th.
“This year marks the 20th anniversary of the loss of the crew during the reentry of the STS107 mission. For some it feels like an eternity. For others it feels like yesterday. But for our agency, it is a time that is living here in the present, shaping our culture, shaping our decisions and helping us forge the way forward,” said KSC Director Janet Petro.
The Space Mirror memorial was created in 1991 and features the names of the mission’s crew: Rick Husband (Commander), William McCool (Pilot), Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kapala Chawla, Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon the first Israeli to fly to the Space Mirror flew space.
Wille McCool (center) and Rick Husband (right), leading the crew in this photo from launch day, January 16, 2003
Image: Karl Ronstrom/Portal
The space shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a sophisticated and innovative vehicle. It was launched vertically like a rocket, but on the way back it landed on a runway with landing gear like an ordinary airplane.
It was the world’s first reusable spacecraft a more practical and cheaper way to fly into space. The program lasted between 1981 and 2011, with five different buses in service: Challenger, Endeavour, Discovery, Atlantis and Columbia (the first to be launched).
See the best moments of a round trip to the International Space Station (ISS):
There were many successes (such as the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope and the construction of the ISS) and 14 fatalities in two major accidents the first occurred on January 28, 1986 with the Challenger explosion (mission STS51L), a Minute after launch, killed all seven crew members.
Columbia (STS107) was different 17 years later, having a successful twoweek trip into space where astronauts conducted important scientific research into microgravity.
Space Shuttle Columbia launches STS107, February 1, 2003
Image: NASA
The accident
- Columbia was launched from Kennedy Space Center on January 16, 2003.
- The accident happened 15 days later while returning to Earth.
- The space shuttle broke up as it flew over Texas en route to Florida, where it would land.
- The cause of the accident was a crack in the carbon heat shield on the left wing tip.
- A minute and a half after takeoff at 400 mph (640 km/h), a piece of the outer fuel tank foam liner came loose and caused the malfunction.
- This went undetected at the time, and Columbia continued on its journey.
- NASA determined that the shuttle had not been hit until the next day, when it was already in orbit, when analyzing launch images.
- Since foam impacts were not uncommon, the agency decided not to inspect the vehicle and look for damage that could endanger its safety.
- As it reentered the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed, the intense heat and friction caused the hole to widen.
- Superheated plasma seeped through the wing structure and Columbia began to melt and disintegrate.
From the ground, visibility was like a large, multiple meteor recorded by Air Force TV stations and radars.
Debris from Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates over Texas (USA)
Image: AP/Scott Lieberman
Could the tragedy have been prevented?
The US government has set up an independent committee called CAIB (Columbia Accident Investigation Board) to investigate the accident. About 84,000 parts were recovered over the next few months, which is about 40% of the shuttle’s weight. Some remains of the astronauts were also found and identified by DNA.
Basically, it turned out to be bad luck: the foam impact happened at the precise moment it did catastrophic damage, in one of the few parts of the ship that lacks any form of redundancy.
But NASA’s decisions that ignored its own flight rules and safety culture have also been called mistakes. The agency continued with the mission normally, despite knowing that the insulating foam from the outer tank was detaching and that the wing could be significantly damaged.
Wreckage was recovered from the Columbia during “assembly” to investigate the causes of the accident
Image: NASA/Portal
If the agency noticed the malfunction as soon as it happened and decided to act, would it be possible to save the mission?
Well, it would be very difficult. The ship was already doomed after the hit but theoretically one could try to save the astronauts.
Investigators proposed a cinematic action: send the space shuttle Atlantis into space for a moving rescue. It would position itself upside down over Columbia, and the astronauts would switch from one ship to another in a risky maneuver.
It would be a race against time to prepare Atlantis (which has been partially dismantled) and create a bold plan from scratch. Columbia could fly for a maximum of a month with the supplies it carried (air, food, and fuel).
Four of the best astronauts would be selected as there was no room for error. The risks would be enormous more lives and another ship could be lost.
consequences
The tragedy prompted a reformulation of the North American space program, which became more conservative. Several changes have been made to avoid further tragedy.
- Space exploration was halted; first as grief and then to understand the causes of the accident.
- The administration of thenPresident George W. Bush decided to end the space shuttle program.
- The three remaining space shuttles (Endeavour, Discovery and Atlantis) returned to service in 2005 to complete the ISS.
- Subsequent launches took place during the day (to make damage more visible) and with another shuttle on standby for emergencies, in addition to a contingency plan involving the ISS.
- In 2011, Atlantis made its final voyage and the program was discontinued.
- NASA was reorganized and some personnel involved in the mission were reassigned.
From then on, the US space agency was no longer able to get astronauts into space alone. Thus began the partnership with the Russian space agency Roscosmos for launches from Kazakhstan with the Soyuz rocket.
This gap also paved the way for private aerospace companies, which launched commercial and scientific payloads and astronauts in the years to come. The most important is SpaceX with the Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon capsule.
Only recently, 11 years later, NASA was again able to fly into space alone, from North American soil and with its own technology. In November 2022, the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket sent the Orion capsule on a journey to the moon with the Artemis 1 mission.
Other accidents
January is a fateful month for space exploration. Remembrance Day 2023 marked three tragedies that will never be forgotten: 20 years of Colombia; 37 years challenger; and also 56 years of Apollo 1.
Astronauts Roger Chaffee (left), Edward White II (center) and Virgil Grissom, who died in the accident, try out the controls and conduct initial testing of the Apollo 1 flight deck
Image: NASA
The first mission of the Apollo program, which took man to the moon, had a terrible chapter: during a ground test, the spacecraft caught fire and suffocated its three astronauts on January 27, 1967.
“This day is of course for our professionals who lost their lives. But more importantly, we don’t forget the harsh lessons of space tragedies like Columbia,” said Bob Cabana, NASA assistant administrator and former astronaut.
Other ceremonies across the country remembered the date. At the Johnson Space Center in Houston, a flyby of the T38 jet concluded the Astronaut Memorial Grove celebration, which saw trees planted for each NASA astronaut who died.
Wreaths and flags were laid at the Langley Research Center in Virginia, the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, and the Stennis Space Flight Center in Mississippi.
“Remembrance Day is about pausing, remembering and celebrating the legacy of the Nasa family, those who gave their lives to further discovery. Although this is always a day of celebration, it is also a day of gratitude. We are grateful that these adventurers shared their lives with us and make life better on Earth,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement.
“As we continue to extend the reach of humanity in this new era of space exploration, we must always embrace NASA’s core value of safety,” he added.