STS-107

STS-107 was launched on January 16, 2003 at 10:39 EST with Astronauts Rick D Husband, William C. McCool, David Brown, Laurel Blair Salton Clark, Michael P. Anderson, Ilan Ramon, and Kalpana Chawla aboard. After being in orbit for 16 days, the orbiter was reentering the atmosphere normally when JSC Mission Control loss communication with Columbia at approximately 9:00 EST February 1, 2003, 16 minutes from the scheduled landing. Contact and tracking of the Shuttle was lost when the Shuttle was at an altitude of 203,000 feet in the area above north-central Texas. The Shuttle was traveling approximately 12,500 miles per hour (Mach 18). Flight controllers in Mission Control had secured all information, notes, and data pertinent to entry and landing by Space Shuttle Columbia.

STS-107 was a multidisciplinary microgravity and Earth science research mission with a multitude of international scientific investigations conducted continuously during the sixteen days in orbit. The breadth of science conducted on this mission as meant to have widespread benefits to life on Earth and our continued exploration of space.

Columbia was named for the sloop captained by Robert Gray who, on May 11, 1792, maneuvered his ship through dangerous inland waters to explore British Columbia and what are now the states of Washington and Oregon. Space Shuttle mission STS-107, the 28^th flight of the space Shuttle Columbia and the 113^th Shuttle mission, had planned to give more than 70 international scientists access to both the unique microgravity environment of space and a team of seven dedicated space-based researchers for 16 uninterrupted days. Columbia’s 16-day mission was devoted to a mixed complement of competitively-selected and commercially-sponsored research in the space, life, and physical sciences. An international crew of seven, including the first Israeli astronaut, worked 24 hours a day in two alternating shifts to carry out experiments in the areas of astronaut health and safety; advanced technology development; and Earth and space sciences.

The Red Shift included Husband, Chawla, Clark, and Ramon, while the Blue Shift had McCool, Anderson, and Brown in it. Both shifts worked on 32 payloads with 59 separate investigations. Under an agreement with NASA, SPACEHAB, Inc. had marketed 18% of the module’s capacity of 9000 pounds to international and industry commercial users from around the world and NASA research utilized the remaining 82% of the payload capacity.

Experiments in the SPACEHAB Research Double Model included 9 commercial payloads involving 21 separate investigations, 4 payloads for the European Space Agency with 14 investigations, 1 payload/ investigation for ISS Risk Mitigation, and 18 payloads supporting 23 investigations for NASA’s Office of Biological and Physical Research (OBPR).

In the physical sciences, 3 studies inside a large, rugged chamber examined the physics of combustion, soot production, and fire quenching processes in microgravity. These experiments will provide new insights into combustion and fire-suppression that cannot be gained on Earth; knowledge gained from this experiment will help firefighters and inventors. An experiment that compresses granular materials, in the absence of gravity, will further our understanding of construction techniques. This information can help engineers provide stronger foundations for structures in areas where earthquakes, floods, and landslides are common. Another experiment will evaluate the formation of zeolite crystals, which can speed the chemical reactions that are the basis for chemical processes used in refining, biomedical, and other areas. Yet another experiment used pressurized liquid xenon to mimic the behaviors of more complex fluids such as blood flowing through capillaries. Over 90% of the data that the crew collected from the experiments has been retrieved and is now being analyzed.

For more information about Colonel Rick D. Husband, please see http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/husband.html.

For more information about Commander William C. McCool, please see http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/mccool.html.

For more information about Lieutenant Colonel Michael P. Anderson, please see

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/anderson.html.

For more information about Kalpana Chawla, please see http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/chawla.html.

For more information about Captain David Brown, please see http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/brown.html.

For more information about Commander Laurel Blair Salton Clark, please see http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/clark.html.

For more information about Ilan Ramon, please see http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/PS/ramon.html.

The Columbia Accident Investigation Board was set up to determine the cause of the STS-107 accident and recommend corrective actions. Retired Navy Admiral Harold W. “Hal” Gehman Jr. was designated as the Chairman of the Board. Rear Admiral Stephen Turcotte, Maj. General John Barry, Maj. General Kenneth W. Hess, Dr. James N. Hallock, Steven B. Wallace, Brig. General Duane Deal, Scott Hubbard, Roger Tetrault, Dr. Sheila Widnall, Dr. Douglas Osheroff, Dr. Sally Ride, and Dr. John Logsdon make up the Board Members. For a collection of the most up-to-date known facts, events, timelines, and historical information related to the final flight of Columbia, please see http://www.caib.us/news/working_scenario/default.html.