Space - 20 år siden Colombia - Space.com

 

NASA pledges 'acute awareness' of astronaut safety 20 years after Columbia shuttle tragedy

By Elizabeth Howell

 published about 6 hours ago

Seven astronauts lost their lives on space shuttle Columbia on Feb. 1, 2003, due to a series of technical and organizational problems at NASA. 

 NASA crew portrait of Space Shuttle Columbia STS-107 crew. Seated  in the front, from left, are: Astronauts Rick D. Husband, mission commander; Kalpana Chawla, mission specialist; and William C. McCool, pilot. Standing, from left, are: David M. Brown, Laurel B. Clark, and Michael P. Anderson, all mission specialists; and Ilan Ramon, payload specialist, representing the Israeli Space Agency. (Image credit: NASA)

It was 20 years ago today (Feb. 1) that seven astronauts lost their lives during a spaceflight.

The spacecraft Columbia broke up during the landing phase of the STS-107 mission in 2003, scattering pieces of the space shuttle across the southern United States. The agency paused shuttle flights for more than two years while investigating the causes of the incident, and only resumed full flight operations in 2006.

Several NASA astronauts shared their experiences of the tragic day during an agency town hall Jan. 26 to mark the agency's annual Day of Remembrance for fallen spaceflyers.