Feb. 1, 2003: Space shuttle Columbia disaster

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ON THIS DAY: The space shuttle Columbia broke apart while returning to Earth, killing the seven astronauts on board.

An investigation would later determine that tiles damaged during lift-off allowed super-heated atmospheric gasses to penetrate the shuttle's wing during re-entry, causing the ship to become unstable and quickly disintegrate. The crew was not told about any risk and didn't know something was wrong until very late in re-entry.

"In the words of a flight director at NASA: It has been a bad day," ABC News' Peter Jennings said during a Feb. 1, 2003 broadcast reporting on the devastating incident.

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Can’t believe it’s 21 years since this happened. RIP all seven souls

heroknaderi

As an 11 year old I remember was at my dads work listening to the radio in his truck..there was breaking news in Spanish and I told my dad what are they saying, he was like there’s been a disaster .
We get home and it’s all over the tv.

Rest in peace Columbia crew
Rest in peace Peter Jennings

nascarfan

I just got really emotional when I heard Peter Jennings voice, He's my favorite news anchor but he passed away a long time ago he had lung cancer, and you just made me emotional cry I miss him😢😢😢❤🌎🙏🤲

NuraCaicedo-xhok

Still remember watching the television when this happened. I was little but watched it and was like omg they died and my siblings were like telling me as it was happening.
Also I miss how reporting was back then. Solid facts. Objective reporting. No speculation. Bring this type of journalism

jennymarie

This happened 11 days before I was born. I learned a lot about it in space camp when I was little, and the instructors noticed the close proximity between the date of the disaster and my date of birth.

RyansColoradoRailProductions

Peter Jennings was a master at his craft!

robz

I remember that day vividly. I had just joined the ARMY RESERVE, and it was during my first drill weekend when we got the news

antoniodiego

Sad sad day I remember it clearly. Tragic for all, especially the families of the crew.🙏 I also remember Peter Jennings voice so well. I miss hearing his voice and seeing him every evening🫶.

stormjacobs

A few months earlier we were on a tour bus at the Kennedy Space Center and they had just rolled the Columbia into the assembly building and the doors were still open got a final peep at it as the bus passed. It's a really huge building.

jamesbrady

That was truly a sad day for NASA. R.I.P. Columbia!

donaldcase

I live in Dallas, TX. I heard and felt the explosion. Didn’t learn for several hours what had happened. There were signs over the highways saying not to touch shuttle debris if you found some. Devastating.

elainelise

I saw Challenger go when I was in kindergarten that was 38 years ago on national tv in class saw it blow up, then Columbia being in balls of fire on national tv 3 years after 9/11 that was 20 years ago the debris was all over Texas. Only 4 shuttles remain and they're retired in a museum or space center. I can't forget Challenger since that was a horrible experience for me when I was little but I'll never forget Regan's quote on space travel, and he's right, there will be more missions to space it won't stop.

"We'll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue." -Regan on Challenger disaster

GigaHellblaze