spacetoday.net: STS-107 news coverage

Columbia debris found in Texas lake

Posted: Wed, Aug 3 6:43 AM ET (1043 GMT)
STS-107: tank found in lake August 2011

A piece of debris from the space shuttle Columbia has been found in Texas lakebed eight and a half years after the shuttle was destroyed. NASA has identified the object, a spherical tank about 1.2 meters in diameter, as one of 18 cryogenic tanks used to store hydrogen and oxygen on the shuttle for use by its fuel cells. The tank was spotted late last week, exposed as waters of Lake Nacogdoches receded during a drought. Debris from Columbia rained down on that area of east Texas on February 1, 2003, when the shuttle broke up during reentry.

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NASA releases Columbia crew survival report

Posted: Wed, Dec 31 6:38 AM ET (1138 GMT)
STS-107 patch (NASA)

The crew of the space shuttle Columbia lost consciousness within seconds of the breakup of the orbiter during reentry on the STS-107 mission nearly six years ago, a NASA report released Tuesday concludes. An investigation by NASA determined that the crew module of Columbia suffered rapid depressurization after it broke away from the orbiter on February 1, 2003, incapacitating the seven astronauts on board before they could configure their pressure suits. The astronauts also suffered "lethal trauma" from the rapid rotation of the crew compartment after breakup, primarily because of a lack of upper-body restraints. The high altitude and speed of the breakup made the accident unsurvivable with any existing capability, according to the report. NASA prepared the report, which includes 30 recommendations for safety improvements, to guide the development of not just its own Orion spacecraft but other manned vehicles developed by other countries and commercial entities. The report was released during an ordinarily quiet period between Christmas and New Years so that the children of the crew's families would be at home when the report was released to allow discussion of it in privacy.