For the seven astronauts it was a day of a lifetime’s dreams fulfilled.

The Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster The Columbia Disaster is one of the most tragic events in spaceflight history. The BBC's Matt Frei reports. "They have been with each family since the mission began and are trying to help them cope with this terrible tragedy," a Nasa official told the BBC. Space shuttle crew who never came back Jump to media player It's 15 years since disaster struck as the Columbia returned to Earth following a research mission. Columbia, which first flew in 1981, was the oldest craft in Nasa's space shuttle programme. Sensor malfunction. NARRATOR: On the 16th January 2003 the crew of the space shuttle Columbia waved goodbye to their families for the final time. BBC News Channel Video duration 2:11 Space shuttle crew who never came back Jump to media player It's 15 years since disaster struck as the Columbia returned to Earth following a research mission.

Space shuttle Columbia makes first return landing. The US space shuttle Columbia broke up on its way back to Earth on February 1, 2003.


... John Glenn at the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster funeral — Letter from America by Alistair Cooke. This is the first time there has been an accident on landing in the 42 years of American space flight. Nasa suffered its second in-flight fatal disaster when the space shuttle Columbia burned up on re-entry on 1 February 2003. But Russia said a planned launch of a cargo vessel to serve the International Space Station will go ahead on Sunday. In 2003 seven astronauts died when Space Shuttle Columbia burnt up on re-entry after similar damage to its heat-resistant tiles. Nasa has assigned a former astronaut to the family of each crew member to provide support.

The Columbia disaster was the second tragedy in the history of the space shuttle program, after the space shuttle Challenger broke apart shortly after launch in … The future of the shuttle programme - and of Nasa's manned space exploration - remains unclear.

The Columbia space shuttle disaster. Pictures courtesy of Nasa.

Worms survived Columbia disaster The C. elegans worm: The animal to have its genetic code laid bare Hundreds of worms that were part of an experiment aboard the doomed space shuttle Columbia have been found alive in debris recovered from the crash site, US space … Seven astronauts lost their lives when the shuttle broke up on re-entry. On this day 15 years ago, Space Shuttle Columbia was returning to Earth after a 16-day research mission. Nasa said it did not yet know what caused the break-up of the shuttle 40 miles (65 kilometres) above the Earth.

BBC News reports on the 2003 space shuttle Columbia disaster.

US President George W Bush paid tribute to the seven astronauts who died on board the craft.

It was restored by the BBC in 2014. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
The craft broke up soon after re-entering the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven crew on board. Its impact on US human spaceflight program, and the resulting decision to discontinue the Space Shuttle Program, was so dramatic that to this date NASA has not recovered an autonomous human access to space. BBC News Channel Video duration 2:11 Space shuttle crew who never came back Jump to media player It's 15 years since disaster struck as the Columbia returned to Earth following a research mission. 2003: Columbia shuttle disintegrates killing seven The US space shuttle Columbia has broken up as it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere killing all seven astronauts on board.