Space Shuttle Columbia

Shuttle Orbiter Columbia (NASA Designation: OV-102) was the oldest space shuttle in NASA's fleet, first flying mission STS-1 from April 12 to April 14, 1981. It was lost with all crew on re-entry on its 28th mission, STS-107, which lasted from January 16 to February 1, 2003.

After being constructed, the orbiter arrived at John F. Kennedy Space Center on March 25, 1979 to be prepared for its first launch. However, before its first mission three workers were killed and five injured during a ground test of the orbiter on March 19, 1981.

The first flight of Columbia was commanded by John Young (a space veteran from the Gemini and Apollo eras) and piloted by Robert Crippen[?] a rookie who had never been in space before, but who served as support crew for the Skylab missions and Apollo-Soyuz[?].

In 1983 Columbia launched the first mission (STS-9) with 6 astronauts, including the first non-American astronaut, Ulf Merbold, from Germany on a space shuttle. On January 12, 1986 Columbia took off with the first Hispanic-American[?] astronaut, Dr. Franklin R. Chang-Diaz[?]. Another first was announced on March 5, 1998 when NASA named their choice of United States Air Force Lt. Col. Eileen Collins[?] as commander of a future Columbia mission making Collins the first woman commander of a space shuttle mission. On its final mission the craft was carrying the first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon and the first astronaut of Indian birth, Kalpana Chawla. Other crew members on the final flight included Rick Husband (commander), Willie McCool (pilot), Michael P. Anderson, Laurel Clark, and David Brown.

On the morning of February 1, 2003, the shuttle re-entered the atmosphere after a 16-day scientific mission. NASA lost radio contact at about 9 a.m. EST, only minutes before the expected 09:16 landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Video recordings show the craft breaking up in flames over Texas, at an altitude of approximately 39 miles (63 km) and a speed of 12,500 mph (20,000 km/h).

See also: Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

Missions

 Date                Designation
 1981 April 12       STS-1
 1981 November 12    STS-2
 1982 March 22       STS-3
 1982 June 27        STS-4
 1982 November 11    STS-5
 1983 November 28    STS-9
 1986 January 12     STS-61-C[?]
 1989 August 8       STS-28[?]
 1990 January 9      STS-32[?]
 1990 December 2     STS-35[?]
 1991 June 5         STS-40[?]
 1992 June 25        STS-50
 1992 October 22     STS-52[?]
 1993 April 26       STS-55[?]
 1993 October 18     STS-58[?]
 1994 March 4        STS-62[?]
 1994 July 8         STS-65[?]
 1995 October 20     STS-73[?]
 1996 February 22    STS-75[?]
 1996 June 20        STS-78[?]
 1996 November 19    STS-80[?]
 1997 April 4        STS-83[?]
 1997 July 1         STS-94[?]
 1997 November 19    STS-87[?]
 1998 April 13       STS-90[?]
 1999 July 23        STS-93[?]
 2002 March 1        STS-109[?]
 2003 January 16     STS-107

   28 total flights

Shuttle Columbia makes its 18th landing. November 5, 1995 (NASA)

Related articles

• Space Shuttle
• Space Shuttle Challenger
• Space Shuttle Enterprise
• Space Shuttle Discovery
• Space Shuttle Atlantis
• Space Shuttle Endeavour

External links

• Orbiter Vehicles (http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/orbiters)
• Shuttle Orbiter Columbia (OV-102) (http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/columbia)
• New York Times coverage of the shuttle (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/01/national/01WEB-SHUT)
• Scripting News' roundup of links about the shuttle (http://scriptingnews.userland.com/backissues/2003/02/01)