Columbia OV-102

NASA's week of Remembrance III

NASA's week of tragic anniversaries finally comes to an end. On January 16, 2003 the Space Shuttle, Columbia, OV-102 launched from LC-39A complex at the Kennedy Space Center.  Columbia was flying the STS-107 mission (actually the 113th flight as STS-107 had been delayed for over two years).  It was during this 28th launch that the heat shielding on her left wing was damaged when a portion insulation broke off of an external tank and struck the leading edge of the wing.  As a result of this damage on February 1st, 2003 and  following a two-week mission Columbia  experienced structural failure and disentergrated during re-entry.  All hands were lost as the debris fell over parts of Texas and Louisiana.

Mission Commander Richard D. Husband.

Mission Pilot William C. McCool.

Payload Commander Michael P. Anderson.

Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon.

Mission Specialist Kaplana Chawla.

Mission Specialist David M. Brown.

Mission Specialist Laurel Clark.

In Memoriam

The crew of STS-107. L to R: Brown, Husband, Clark, Chawla, Anderson, McCool, Ramon