Launch of STS-107

STS-107 was the final flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia, a sixteen-day science mission carrying a laboratory module, with experiments in biology, physics and Earth observation. Seven astronauts flew on it: Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut. During launch, a piece of foam insulation broke from the external tank and struck the left wing. The damage let hot gases enter the wing during re-entry on 1 February 2003, and Columbia broke apart over Texas, killing all seven. The accident investigation criticised NASA's safety culture, and the shuttle fleet was grounded for more than two years.

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