Remembering the Columbia STS-107 Mission - NASA (original) (raw)
Historical Resources
The Columbia STS-107 mission lifted off on January 16, 2003, for a 17-day science mission featuring numerous microgravity experiments. Upon reentering the atmosphere on February 1, 2003, the Columbia orbiter suffered a catastrophic failure due to a breach that occurred during launch when falling foam from the External Tank struck the Reinforced Carbon Carbon panels on the underside of the left wing. The orbiter and its seven crew members were lost approximately 15 minutes before Columbia was scheduled to touch down at Kennedy Space Center. This page presents information about the STS-107 flight, as well as information related to the accident and subsequent investigation by the formal Columbia Accident Investigation Board.
The STS-107 Crew
Rick D. Husband
Commander
Rick Husband, 45, a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, was a test pilot and veteran of one spaceflight. He served as commander for STS-107. Husband received a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from Texas Tech University in 1980 and a master of science in mechanical engineering from California State University-Fresno in 1990. As commander, Husband was responsible for the overall conduct of the mission. During the mission, he maneuvered Columbia as part of several experiments in the shuttle’s payload bay that focused on the Earth and the Sun. He was also the senior member of the Red Team and worked with the following experiments: European Research In Space and Terrestrial Osteoporosis (ERISTO); Mediterranean Israeli Dust Experiment (MEIDEX); Osteoporosis Experiment in Orbit (OSTEO); the Physiology and Biochemistry Team (PhAB4) suite of experiments, which included Calcium Kinetics, Latent Virus Shedding, Protein Turnover and Renal Stone Risk; and Shuttle Ozone Limb Sounding Experiment (SOLSE-2).
Selected by NASA in December 1994, Husband served as the pilot of STS-96 in 1999 – a 10-day mission during which the crew performed the first docking with the International Space Station. Prior to STS-107, Husband logged more than 235 hours in space.
STS-107
The first shuttle mission in 2003, STS-107 mission marked the 113th flight overall in NASA's Space Shuttle program and the 28th flight of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia. While en…
Columbia Chronology
This chronology outlines some of the major accident-related flight events of STS-107. It was compiled by Jennifer Troxell in the NASA History Office from the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) Report Volume 1, the CAIB STS-107 Mishap Investigation-Master Time Line, and the Statement for the Record of Administrator Sean O’Keefe, NASA Administrator, at a joint session of the House Committee on Science Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics and Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on February 12, 2003.
Summary Timeline-Rev 15
The STS-107 Timeline-Rev 15 outlines the reentry progress of the Space Shuttle Columbia. It was created by the NASA/CAIB Integrated Time Line Team and was used by the CAIB in recreating and analyzing the accident. It is incredibly detailed and is color-coded for nominal and off-nominal events. It originally appeared on the CAIB Web site.
Master Timeline-Rev 15
The STS-107 Timeline-Rev 15 outlines the reentry progress of the Space Shuttle Columbia. It was created by the NASA/CAIB Integrated Time Line Team and was used by the CAIB in recreating and analyzing the accident. It is incredibly detailed and is color-coded for nominal and off-nominal events. It originally appeared on the CAIB Web site.
Ground Track, Events Summary, and Sighting Data
This document was created based on the STS-107 Timeline-Rev 15. It originally appeared on the CAIB website. An acronym list for this report also originally appeared on the CAIB Web site.
Freedom of Information act (FOIA)
Columbia Accident Investigation Documents
NASA's Johnson Space Center FOIA library includes a collection of documents relating to the Columbia Accident Investigation.
Documents
The Columbia Crew Survival Investigation Report
A comprehensive study of crew safety equipment and procedures used during the space shuttle Columbia accident with recommendations for improving the safety of all future human spaceflights was released on December 30, 2008.
Columbia Sensor Diagrams
PowerPoint slides that were originally located on the NASA Human Space Flight STS-107 Investigation Reference Page. These diagrams were presented by NASA to the CAIB on March 17, 2003.
Shuttle Recovery Operations Map
This map depicts the Columbia debris search area. The map was originally located on the NASA Human Space Flight STS-107 Investigation Reference Page.
Columbia NASA Press Releases
This page contains a number of press releases related to the STS-107 flight, accident, recovery efforts, and memorials.
Congressional Documents
Congressional Research Service (CRS) CAIB Fact Sheet
Created by Marcia S. Smith of the CRS, this document summarizes the CAIB report.
U.S. House of Representatives Documents
Statements made by members of the House and material from the series of House hearings conducted following the STS-107 accident.
U.S. Senate Documents
Material from the series of Senate hearings conducted following the STS-107 accident.
Executive Branch Documents
President Addresses Nation on Columbia
February 1, 2003
Flags at Half-Staff
February 1, 2003
President Attends Memorial Service
February 4, 2003
Emergency Declaration on Shuttle Columbia
February 6, 2003
Vice President at National Cathedral Memorial Service
February 6, 2003
Joint Statement by Bush and Putin
June 1, 2003
August 26 Statement on CAIB
August 26, 2003
The Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB)
The CAIB Charter
An outline of the purpose of the board and its members.
Member Biographies
Biographies of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board members.
The CAIB Synopsis
A brief overview of the CAIB and its recommendations written by Jennifer Troxell of the NASA History Office.
Columbia Recommendation Spreadsheet
Compiled by Jennifer Troxell of the NASA History Office, this spreadsheet connects the CAIB findings with the various recommendations presented in the CAIB report.
CAIB Preliminary Recommendations
Recommendations from the CAIB published in advance of the final report.
STS-107 Working Scenario
This working scenario was created by the CAIB and NASA’s Accident Investigation Team. It documents known facts about the accident, includes timelines, and also presents relevant historical information about the STS-107 mission. It originally appeared on the CAIB website.
Foam Impact Velocity Demonstration
This document details the process by which the CAIB determined the debris impact speed on the orbiter. It originally appeared on the CAIB website.
The CAIB Report
The six volumes of the report are available for download.
Bibliographies
American Manned Spacecraft Accidents
A bibliography compiled by the NASA Headquarters library staff. It has references to the Columbia accident.
Columbia Accident Information Sources
A bibliography that was compiled by the NASA Headquarters library staff. It gives several sources of information for further research.
Organizational Culture
This is a highly selective bibliography that contains just some of the resources available about organizational culture. It was compiled by Jennifer Troxell of the NASA History Office based on some of the footnotes provided in the Columbia Accident Investigation Report.
Toward a History of the Space Shuttle: An Annotated Bibliography, Part 1
Published in 1992, Monograph 1 in the NASA History Series
Toward a History of the Space Shuttle: An Annotated Bibliography, Part 2, 1992–2011
Published in 2012, Monograph 49 in the NASA History Series contains a chapter specifically about the STS-107 accident.
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