They said that by working around-the-clock shifts, seven days a week, the Atlantis could have been prepared for launch by February 10 - five days before food and other resources on the Columbia would have run out. While the Investigation Board judged that it was unlikely that the damage to the orbiter could have been repaired in space, the CAIB said it would have been “challenging but feasible” to launch the Atlantis, another space shuttle, to save the astronauts on the Columbia shuttle. It is likely that the lives of the Columbia’s crew could have been saved. But no individuals at NASA or elsewhere were ever charged with any form of culpability. That suggests that NASA, as an organization, bore some responsibility for what happened. Was NASA to blame for the Columbia shuttle accident?Īs the Investigation Board concluded, there were - what they called - “organizational causes” for the disaster. Spaceflight is no less difficult today than it was 20 years ago, or in the 1960s, but space agencies have introduced safety reforms and regulations as our knowledge and experience of space improves. “With greater international cooperation and maintaining of the International Space Station (ISS), the number of manned spaceflights and days spent in space has constantly increased,” wrote the researchers, adding that there had been “constantly lower rates of incidents and accidents.” On February 1, 2003, onlookers watched in horror as the space shuttle Columbia became a fireball in the sky, disintegrating as it reentered Earths atmosphere with seven astronauts on board. The study authors calculated a total fatality rate (deaths per spaceflight) of 5.8% up to the paper’s publication in 2022. That damage had then allowed “superheated air” to melt the orbiter’s aluminum structure.Īlso read | Watch thousands of galaxies collide in this image made using multiple telescopes The CAIB concluded that when the foam broke off during launch, it “breached” or damaged an outer thermal protection system. Fate of the astronautsĪfter the accident, a team of investigators known as the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) looked into what had happened. The crew was notified about the debris strike via an email from mission control, but was assured that the “same phenomenon on several other flights” and that there was “absolutely no concern” about its affecting their re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.īut when the Columbia shuttle began its descent back to Earth after roughly two weeks in space, the decision to do nothing proved to be wrong - and fatal. But a decision was made to continue with the mission without fixing the damage or evacuating the astronauts. NASA’s two shuttle accidents account for more than half of the names carved into the black granite of the Space Mirror Memorial plane crashes are to blame for the rest.Ī ship’s bell rang after each of the 25 names was read during last week's ceremony.ĪP's Maria Dunn contributed to this report.By the second day of the mission, NASA had discovered what had happened. This year, more than 100 people gathered under a gray sky at Kennedy Space Center to remember not only Columbia’s crew of seven, but the 18 other astronauts killed in the line of duty. At space centers across the country, flags were lowered to half-staff, with ceremonies held. 1, 2003.īecause of the clustering of these three dates, NASA sets aside the last Thursday of every January to commemorate its fallen astronauts. 28, 1986, killing all seven aboard, and shuttle Columbia was destroyed during reentry on Feb. Shuttle Challenger broke apart during liftoff on Jan. The Apollo 1 launch pad fire claimed three astronauts' lives on Jan. NASA COMMEMORATES FALLEN ASTRONAUTS ON THE LAST THURSDAY OF EVERY JANUARY The Forest Service also installed a new plaque with information about the shuttle disaster. Now, they've been joined by two more trees to honor two Forest Service pilots who died in a helicopter crash during the search for debris. Seven trees were planted there to honor Columbia's crew. On Wednesday, it held a memorial in Nacogdoches. The Texas A&M Forest Service played a critical role in the recovery mission. TEXAS A&M MARKS ANNIVERSARY WITH TREE PLANTING Chambers also retired from the FBI and is a police captain in the small East Texas town of Lindale. "That's the best I can do, just helping them bring each other home," Chambers said.
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