20th Anniversary of the Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster

WASHINGTON – On February 1, 2003, seven astronauts died when the Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart on re-entry.

The Columbia disintegrated on re-entry after a piece of foam from the fuel tank broke off and pierced the left wing during takeoff. The shuttle dropped over Texas, just 16 minutes from landing in Florida.

“My countrymen, this day has brought terrible news and great sadness to our country,” then-President George W. Bush said in a televised address to the nation that day. “Colombia is lost, there are no survivors.”

The final Columbia crew included Commander Rick Husband, pilot Willie McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Ilan Ramon and Laurel Clark.

On February 2, 2004, a memorial to the crew of the Columbia was unveiled at Arlington National Cemetery, near the Challenger Memorial.

On January 26, NASA held a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center to honor the 18 astronauts who died in the line of duty. NASA sets aside the last Thursday of each January to honor the memory of the astronauts from the Columbia tragedy, as well as the lives lost in the Challenger disaster and the Apollo 1 launch pad fire.