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United Space AllianceLaunch FailureHuman ExplorationSpace Shuttle Columbia / OV-102
Launched 2003-01-16 15:39 UTCLaunch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
The seven members of the crew were killed on February 1 when Columbia disintegrated during reentry into the atmosphere. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board determined the failure was caused by a piece of foam that broke off during launch and damaged the thermal protection system (reinforced carbon-carbon panels and thermal protection tiles) on the leading edge of the orbiter's Left wing. During re-entry the damaged wing slowly overheated and came apart, eventually leading to loss of control and disintegration of the vehicle.
From Launch Library 2 · updated
Launch failure
Target: Low Earth Orbit
Space Shuttle lifted off with STS-107, but the launch failed.
Next
Waiting on the Cause
No cause has been given yet. What United Space Alliance finds will be added here, and to the updates below.
STS-107 was the 113th flight of the Space Shuttle program, and the disastrous final flight of Space Shuttle Columbia. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 16, 2003, and during its 15 days, 22 hours, 20 minutes, 32 seconds in orbit conducted a multitude of international scientific experiments.
United Space Alliance (USA) is a spaceflight operations company. USA is a joint venture which was established in August 1995 as a Limited Liability Company (LLC), equally owned by Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
Launches
51
Successful
50
98%
Upcoming
0
scheduled
Height
56.1m
Diameter
8m
To low Earth orbit
27,500kg
Liftoff thrust
28,200kN
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