Category: Columbia

Space Shuttle Columbia lifts off on the 78th shuttle mission, a Spacelab flight lasting nearly 17 days and devoted to the effects of microgravity on various forms of life. The crew also tests maneuvers under consideration for a future Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission which could safely boost Hubble’s orbit without damaging it. Aboard Columbia for her 20th flight are Commander Terence Henricks, Pilot Kevin Kregel, flight engineer Susan Helms, mission specialists Richard Linnehan and Charles Brady, and payload specialists Jean-Jacques Favier and Robert Thirsk.

Space Shuttle Columbia lifts off on the 80th shuttle flight, a science mission lasting nearly 18 days. Two free-floating experiment platforms are deployed and then retrieved by the end of the mission for delivery back to Earth. Two spacewalks to test space station construction techniques are called off for safety reasons when a problem arises with Columbia’s airlock. Aboard Columbia for her 21st flight are Commander Kenneth Cockrell, Pilot Kent Rominger, and mission specialists Tammy Jernigan, Thomas Jones and Story Musgrave.

Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on the 83rd shuttle mission, intended to last over two weeks. In the cargo bay, the Spacelab module is set up for an intensive study of the behavior of natural processes in microgravity. A recurring issue with one of the shuttle’s three fuel cells concerns ground controllers enough to recall Columbia to Earth after only 63 orbits, only the third time a shuttle mission has been cut short. Aboard Columbia for her 22nd flight are Commander James Halsell, Pilot Susan Still, Payload Commander Janice Voss, mission specialists Donald Thomas and Michael Gernhardt, and payload specialists Roger Crouch and Greg Linteris. A reflight of the Spacelab mission is scheduled for the upcoming STS-94 mission in July.

For the first and only time in the history of the American space program, a previously aborted mission is flown with the same vehicle, cargo and crew. Space Shuttle Columbia returns to orbit with Spacelab in its cargo bay for an attempt to fully carry out the aborted STS-83 mission, which was recalled to Earth in April. This time, the mission is successful, with nearly 16 days of microgravity experiments carried out by the crew. Flying Columbia – again – are Commander James Halsell, Pilot Susan Still, Payload Commander Janice Voss, mission specialists Donald Thomas and Michael Gernhardt, and payload specialists Roger Crouch and Greg Linteris.

Space Shuttle Columbia lifts off on the 88th shuttle flight, a mission lasting nearly 16 days to conduct microgravity studies and deploy a space science payload which begins spinning after the shuttle’s manipulator arm releases it. Plans to match the shuttle to the satellite’s rotation and recapture it are called off in favor of a no-less-risky seven-hour, two-man spacewalk to slow the satellite’s rotation and retrieve it. Aboard Columbia for her 24th flight are Commander Kevin Kregel, Pilot Steven Lindsey, and mission specialists Winston Scott, Kalpana Chawla, Takao Doi and Leonid Kadenyuk.

NASA launches Space Shuttle Columbia on the 90th shuttle mission, in which 16 days are spent in orbit conducting studies of the human nervous system in a weightless environment. This is the final flight of the 20-year-old Spacelab module aboard a space shuttle, though some elements of Spacelab are later incorporated into the International Space Station. Columbia’s 25th crew is Commander Richard Searfoss, Pilot Scott Altman, and mission specialists Richard Linnehan, Dafydd Rhys Williams and Kathryn Hire, and payload specialists Dr. Jay Buckey and Dr. James Pawelczyk. (The crew, along with backup crewmembers, is pictured here during a visit to the set of Star Trek: Voyager.)

Space Shuttle Columbia lifts off on a five-day mission to deploy the Chanda X-Ray Observatory satellite. The first American space mission with a woman in the commander’s seat, this flight also includes some ultraviolet astronomy experiments, and sees the first test of HDTV equipment in space. Aboard Columbia for her 26th mission are Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jeff Ashby, and mission specialists Steven Hawley, Catherine Coleman and Michel Tognini. After landing, Columbia is removed from the orbiter rotation with the intention of permanent retirement, though a demanding launch schedule convinces NASA to upgrade Columbia and return the flagship of the shuttle fleet to service in 2002.

Space Shuttle Columbia lifts off for a scientific research mission with the SPACEHAB module – a successor to Spacelab – in its cargo bay, for a flight lasting almost 17 days. Columbia’s crew for this flight is Commander Rick Husband, Pilot Willie McCool, Payload Commander Michael Anderson, mission specialists Kalpana Chawla, David Brown and Laurel Clark, and payload specialist Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut. During liftoff, a piece of insulated foam is vibrated loose from the shuttle’s external fuel tank, causing critical damage to the leading edge of Columbia’s left wing. The foam collision is noticed and discussed internally at NASA, but is not deemed a threat by ground controllers.

After nearly 17 days in orbit performing experiments in the SPACEHAB module its cargo bay, Space Shuttle Columbia deorbits to return to Earth for a planned landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During reentry, a gaping hole in the leading edge of Columbia’s left wing – damage caused by a piece of foam shaken loose from the external fuel tank during liftoff – allows superheated plasma to leak into the shuttle’s superstructure, tearing the vehicle apart. The entire crew (Commander Rick Husband, Pilot Willie McCool, Payload Commander Michael Anderson, mission specialists Kalpana Chawla, David Brown and Laurel Clark, and payload specialist Ilan Ramon) is lost. At first, ground controllers are only aware of a series of sensor failures in the wing, followed by a loss of contact; ground-based cameras finally spot an expanding cloud of debris falling at supersonic speeds. As with the loss of Challenger in 1986, an extensive investigation and review of NASA procedures follows the loss of Columbia and her crew, resulting in a two-year grounding of the remaining shuttle fleet and a pause in construction of the International Space Station.