US EditionRemembering Space Shuttle Columbia
- Episode 195 of This Week In Space is a remembrance episode featuring Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik with guest Gerry Griffin, available on YouTube and podcast download/subscribe links.
- On January 27, 1967, Apollo 1 died in an on-pad fire, the Space Shuttle Challenger was destroyed during launch on January 28, 1986, and the Space Shuttle Columbia was lost during reentry on February 1, 2003.
- Apollo 1's cause was an on-pad cabin fire that killed its crew, Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch due to O-ring failure in cold weather, and Columbia suffered a foam strike to its left wing during launch causing reentry breakup.
- Public confidence in NASA fell after investigators found the Challenger launch should have been postponed, while CU Boulder and Air Force ROTC Detachment 105 held memorials honoring astronauts from Challenger and Columbia.
- Investigations found NASA had underestimated foam debris risks, reviews found astronauts might have attempted a risky repair, and analysts concluded Space Shuttle Atlantis rescue might have been possible.
15 Articles
15 Articles
The tragedy claimed the lives of all seven astronauts on board and showed the world how underestimating risks can have fatal consequences.
Remembering Columbia: East Texan recalls disaster that killed 7 astronauts
TYLER, Texas (KETK) -- On February 1, 2003, 23 years ago, a doctor from East Texas and his wife stood outside, eagerly anticipating the return of the Columbia Space Shuttle to Earth following its 17-day mission focused on microgravity experiments. As they captured pictures and videos, Dr. Scott Lieberman's wife inquired whether it was normal [...]
Daily Camera
Colorado Hometown WeeklyCU Boulder remembers alumni who died in Challenger, Columbia space missions
David Klaus, a retired University of Colorado Boulder professor, was a 23-year-old launch control engineer at NASA when the Challenger spacecraft exploded shortly after liftoff in 1986. When his career eventually led him to become a professor at CU Boulder, he got to know the members of the Columbia space shuttle crew because he had a CU experiment onboard. The Columbia spacecraft disintegrated upon re-entry into the atmosphere in 2003. Both mis…
Chilling two final words of Challenger pilot before disaster killed all astronauts on board - The Mirror
When the pilot confirmed his insturction to mission control with the words, “go throttle up”. It sounded like another routine mission was unfolding -until it didn't.
Remembering Challenger disaster and Akron astronaut Judith Resnik 40 years later: Brent Larkin
The Challenger wasn’t the nation’s first space tragedy. Reaching for the stars comes with a cost. But this was the first spaceship to break apart on live television, exploding before our very eyes -- including schoolchildren hoping to celebrate a teacher’s first foray into the beyond -- and propelling the nation into a brief period of profound mourning, writes Brent Larkin today.
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