STS-107
Final flight of Space Shuttle Columbia, ending in disaster during re-entry.
STS-107 marked the 113th mission of the Space Shuttle program and the last for the orbiter Columbia, which had flown 28 times. Launched from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on January 16, 2003, the crew spent 15 days, 22 hours, 20 minutes, and 32 seconds in orbit, carrying out a wide range of international scientific experiments. The mission ended catastrophically on February 1, 2003, when the shuttle broke apart during reentry over Texas, killing all seven astronauts and destroying most of the onboard science payloads.
In the aftermath, NASA formed the Columbia Accident Investigation Board to find the cause of the breakup. Investigators traced the failure to a piece of foam that detached during launch and struck the left wing’s leading edge, damaging the reinforced carbon-carbon panels and thermal protection tiles. During reentry, the compromised wing overheated, leading to a loss of control and the vehicle’s disintegration. A similar type of damage had occurred on Atlantis during STS-27 in 1988, the second flight after the Challenger disaster, but that mission survived because the impact hit a spot reinforced with a thin steel plate near the landing gear. Today, the cockpit window frame from Columbia is displayed in a memorial inside the Space Shuttle Atlantis Pavilion at Kennedy Space Center.
The mission’s primary focus was multidisciplinary microgravity research. It carried the SPACEHAB Research Double Module on its first flight, the Freestar experiment mounted on a Hitchhiker Program rack, and the Extended Duration Orbiter pallet. (SPACEHAB had first flown on STS-57.) During the mission, a video studying atmospheric dust may have detected a new phenomenon called a “TIGER” (Transient Ionospheric Glow Emission in Red). Among the items on board was a copy of a drawing by Petr Ginz, a 14-year-old prisoner in the Terezín concentration camp who edited the magazine Vedem; the drawing depicted his imagined view of Earth from the Moon. The copy was carried by Ilan Ramon and lost in the disintegration. Ramon also brought a dollar bill given to him by the Lubavitcher Rebbe. An Australian experiment, designed by students from Glen Waverley Secondary College, tested how zero gravity affected web formation by the Australian garden orb weaver spider.
Quick Facts
- Names List
- Space Transportation System-107
- Insignia Caption
- STS-107 mission patch
- Spacecraft
- 102
- Mission Type
- Microgravity research
- Operator
- NASA
- Mission Duration
- 15 days, 22 hours, 20 minutes, 32 seconds
- Orbits Completed
- 255
- Distance Travelled
- 6600000 mi
- Launch Mass
- 263706 lb
- Landing Mass
- 232793 lb (expected)
- Payload Mass
- 32084 lb
- Crew Size
- 7
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
STS-107 carried the SPACEHAB Research Double Module on its inaugural flight, the Freestar experiment, and the Extended Duration Orbiter pallet. The primary mission focus was multidisciplinary microgravity research. During the mission, a video taken to study atmospheric dust may have detected a new atmospheric phenomenon, dubbed a 'TIGER' (Transient Ionospheric Glow Emission in Red). On board Columbia was a copy of a drawing by Petr Ginz, the editor-in-chief of the magazine Vedem, who depicted what he imagined the Earth looked like from the Moon when he was a 14-year-old prisoner in the Terezín concentration camp. The copy was in the possession of Ilan Ramon and was lost in the disintegration. Ramon also traveled with a dollar bill received from the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
Reader's Guide
STS-107 is significant as the final mission of Space Shuttle Columbia, ending in the Columbia disaster that killed all seven crew members. The disaster occurred during re-entry over Texas due to a piece of foam that broke off during launch and damaged the thermal protection system on the leading edge of the left wing. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board determined the cause and criticized NASA for bad organizational and safety culture. Despite the loss, much scientific data was saved: NASA estimated 30% of total science data was transmitted during the mission, and an additional 5-10% was recovered from debris, bringing total saved data to 35-40%. Several payloads were recovered intact, including the Critical Viscosity of Xenon-2 experiment (99% data recovered), the CIBX-2 biomedical payload (50% data recovered, with the micro-encapsulation experiment reaching 90% and student crystal experiments 100%), and BRIC-14 and BRIC-60 samples (80-87% of live organisms survived). These recoveries aided astrobiology research and theories about microorganisms surviving long trips in space on meteorites or asteroids.
Did You Know?
- The mission insignia is the only patch of the shuttle program entirely shaped in the orbiter's outline.
- A video taken during the mission may have detected a new atmospheric phenomenon called a 'TIGER' (Transient Ionospheric Glow Emission in Red).
- Over 85,000 pieces of debris were collected, amounting to roughly 38 percent of the orbiter vehicle.
- The cockpit window frame is now exhibited in a memorial inside the Space Shuttle Atlantis Pavilion at the Kennedy Space Center.
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