Shuttle Columbia Disaster | Flight Director Communications Loop

[@simmsdn]

The level of professionalism in that room is incredible. Being able to watch leaders continue their mission in the face of abaolute tragedy is a real lesson in grace and dignity while still focusing on the critical tasks that must be accomplished to continue to organiation's mission, learn the lessons from the tragedy, and honor the crew. Absolutely humbling to watch and listen to these dedicated professionals.

[@BimmieJames]

It would have been 12:33 when the order to “lock the doors” is made. It literally means that no one enters or leaves Mission Control as an investigation has been initiated and the data and witnesses can’t be compromised. But the knowledge that a mishap is occurring exponentially increases beginning with the orbiter failing comms checks.

[@lunarmodule5]

I have listened to this many times, it still gets me every time....Godspeed Columbia crew

[@CorkyMcButterpants]

God ain't got nothin to do with any of this.

[@bwphotographer3484]

If there would be a God, the Crew would have survived. Some God don't you think?

[@kimmie965]

@@bwphotographer3484 god did not do that it is just something that happened just like the challenger

[@Lonnie-dt2or]

If he controls life........... He controls death

[@Papershields001]

If I remember exactly where I was when I heard about this. I was with my civil air patrol squadron and we were touring the workshop of “the wright experience” in Warrenton Va. They were building the replica that was meant to fly down at kitty hawk for the centennial of flight. It really sticks out because a few nights before I had spotted the shuttle as it past overhead, crazy to think that it was STS-107. Ad astra per aspera.

[@tetchypoo]

I never noticed this before, but you can see he was crying at 19:20. The strength it must have taken to hold out as long as he did and to still control his voice is something I couldn’t imagine.

[@robbbessey2680]

The worst outcome imaginable and he still found it in himself to be a leader. I know I don't have those cojones.

[@ozzie-sk9dh]

Heartbreaking to watch the Flight Director as he realises Columbia is lost. A lot of respect to the team for staying focused and professional when they knew their colleagues were lost. That was the best and only thing they could do in their memory at that moment.

[@shumla7ranch]

That was a horrible day. Have a lump in my throat listening to this all over again, now almost 22 years later (01/14/25).

[@stephaniewood6133]

Same..so sad

[@TexasFire_Cross]

I deployed as a HazMat tech on a Search & Recovery team in Nacogdoches County. My team mainly found pieces of the tiles, but a nearby crew found parts from the onboard laboratory. Sad period for our country.

[@jarrettfullerton2580]

I think the thing that is lost on some people is how deep this would hit for some of these guys. They found out in seconds that they have lost their friends. They likely know the astronauts families etc. they were tasked with getting them home. I couldn't imagine the pain they felt. These people's ability to keep going and follow contingency plans is remarkable. They are all so strong.

[@muska34]

Not to mention they reassured them about the damage and said it would be ok.

[@louskunt9798]

Well said!🫡

[@qwipperty]

That one fellow who repeated "com check" is an astronaut. Not only did he lose some of his friends, but he was up in space at various points in time himself. To think "that could've been me" while also having to do his job....that must've been so difficult.

[@Fairbanks84]

@@qwipperty do you know his name?

[@qwipperty]

@ not offhand, no.

[@helipilot68]

This just breaks my heart. I can only imagine the terror the shuttle crew felt and the heartache Mission Control was feeling.

[@robz7789]

A very tragic day in not only our nation's history.But, in the history of space travel. May the Columbia 7 rest in peace.

[@akbarshabazz-jenkins7847]

* pieces

[@Swiss-Toni]

@@akbarshabazz-jenkins7847 Do you think people are going to laugh . Is that why you put a sick comment. . ? It’s a question. Baffles me how people can show no respect when a tragedy happens. The world is full of weaklings, these days.

[@walterbatista7594]

I'm sorry for the entire team at mission control. It's terrible when the crew doesn't back home. But I'm most sorry for our beloved flight director LeRoy Cain. See his face and that of his people, losing people in your care is the worst thing that can happen. Rest in peace Rick, Willie, Mike, David, Laurel, KC and Ilan. Thanks for your amazing work for benefit of mankind. Hail STS-107 crew, hail Columbia 😭

[@kbuss10]

my question is why the dark grey shirt man is so in a bad mood right from the start, especially on the first 3 errors? like they were expectin it and just took it like lambs

[@baddrivingnyc]

@@kbuss10 It's because they knew about the damage to the heat shield on this and other orbiter returns and they knew this would happen despite telling the crew that the damage was a non-issue.

[@kbuss10]

@@baddrivingnyc they told that to the department of defense too... also that woman was reprimanding staff that dared to bring up the issue as "givin a bad name to nasa" and this damage wont cause any problems. hows she didn do jailtime? this guys look like a mourning crowd at a funeral. its clear that this wasnt just a second opinion of "some engineers" at this time, but a widespread opinion. yet they doin this act. those ppl could have been saved! salvage scenario is clearly stated as viable in the final report. seein this video is nonsensical. the main guy is completely under himself way before the 1st error occurs. how this is ok?

[@wintergirl8]

​@@kbuss10they couldn't have been saved, though. I'm not sure that the crew shouldn't have been told what had happened, but yeah. There is nothing that could have been done.

[@kbuss10]

@ how on eart you know that?? i just read the 400 page report a couple of days ago. none of their safety equipment was used or prepared. nothing in the report says or could prove that there was a 100 percent to loose all of them. unless its in the part thats redacted. but if it is, then why is it redacted? surely not to cover the insane flop and the nonsensical decision to not to inform them. its just like the Kennedy stuff, its full of holes. when did this ever happened in history to not to warn ppl of dangerous jobs when there is even a slim chance they can make it? like never ever. they just wanted to hide that the DEI hired program manager was completely incompetent, now shes livin a rich life

[@philipmay6003]

I was just waking up in the DFW area when my brother called me and said to go outside right away and look up. I took my binoculars out and saw the multiple fireball streaks. I went back in and started watching the news coverage. Later that day I listened to reports of Shuttle debris being found across East Texas and listened to instructions of phone numbers and agencies to call to report debris and to not touch or attempt to move the debris. Broadcasters also stressed that taking debris as souvenirs was a serious crime.

[@Patti-b-luvin-billie]

This is an incredible video to have access to.

[@RichardOutdoors]

The radio crackle that starts at 5:22, following last transmission regarding tyre pressures signalled the break up. Haunting.

[@kbuss10]

@@RichardOutdoors yeah is tough I think they Linda expected it

[@RockinStacy]

Video for each from inside Columbia kzbin.info/www/bejne/inqrfaKfoJeCmKMsi=a3VseVV_SxO0aHIq

[@scottw6704]

@@kbuss10 listen Linda

[@rgc1961]

​@@kbuss10 Who's Linda?

[@nemesis_ftw]

@@rgc1961 I think it was supposed to be "kinda"

[@16MedicRN]

I was in highschool, Central Florida, and had a study period where I was out in the courtyard during Challenger. They were playing the shuttle communications over the intercoms while most watched on tv in classrooms. 'Throttle Up', followed by the unforgettable smoke patterns in different directions, is something I will never forget. The Flight Director of Columbia saying, 'Lock the doors', is another thing I will never forget. They knew they were lost 😭 May they all know eternal peace and see that we remember them, always 😔🙏✨

[@debrakleid5752]

I was in 3rd grade during Challenger and we lived in Port Orange, FL which is in Volusia County (one county to the north of Brevard County which is where the launch pad is). We went outside to watch the launch! Tragic that day and I remember the Challenger disaster more than this one.

[@spacebar9476]

Throttle up man.

[@JPF941]

I can not imagine the stress on the Flight Director here. Losing a crew is tough, losing a shuttle is hard, having family in the mcc area is heartbreaking.

[@Blue_oh_so_Blue]

He was related to one of the souls lost?

[@boobooboo68964]

No, I think they meant that either the flight director had family there at nasa that day to witness the landing and join him afterwards. Or he meant that the families of the crew lost were also there at nasa, waiting for their loved ones to land. ​@Blue_oh_so_Blue

[@FurryWrecker911]

@@Blue_oh_so_Blue No. They said MCC, not shuttle. MCC means Mission Control Center. I'm not sure if they meant their own family members were working alongside them or if they were talking about the family of the crew being alongside them. It's written in the possessive case, like it's his crew, his shuttle, his family in the MCC, so I'm confused in that regard. I assume they meant "family of the crew" because that makes the most sense to me.

[@GudieveNing]

I was in a John Lewis store in the UK looking at the tech gear. Went into the TV department, so masses of big screens everywhere. There was what looked like meteors streaking across the sky. Then I noticed the caption below, and realised I was watching Colimbia burning up live on TV. I burst into tears when learning of Challenger disaster, and this bought me to tears again. Watching the Starship 7 second stage burnup yesterday was sad too, but at least no loss of life.

[@govtom4]

Thank you for thinking about us, cousin. Cheers from Texas, my friend.

[@bauerdraws6163]

"Lock the doors", oufffff. Man, feel it like it's happening live.

[@Keydownkang_1266]

After visiting the Kennedy Space Center last year. To actually see a shuttle in person ‼️ This has new meaning to the dangers they faced every time a mission was flown ‼️ It's heartbreaking to hear that lock the door call.......🙏🏾🙏🏾

[@EastCoastRailfanAir]

It’s almost the anniversary of our friends Columbia and Challenger. Could you do a video on day of remeberance and the anniversary of Columbia and Challenger. Columbia and Mission Control talking into the speaker was real sad and I’m talking about this video but for future Challenger and Columbia

[@lisekartak-mcdonald2222]

In 2025 crying watching this. I remember exactly where I was when the news that morning came across. This will never stop hurting.

[@mommaofsix1201]

We live in NE Texas. We heard a rumble as Columbia was crashing. We had no idea what it was at the time. God bless the crew.

[@vsirrmk]

Leroy Cain is such an incredibly decent man. Through the heartbreak inside, he maintained control. Best Flight Commander!❤

[@chuckhickey9721]

How can he be the best when he FAILED at even trying to see if there was WING DAMAGE? Fail….👎👎👎

[@vsirrmk]

@chuckhickey9721 Foam strikes happened often before. Never a problem. Never a issue during return flights. Only when Leroy heard " no commonality " in failing of left wing sensors he and others started to suspect that the left wing is damaged. But at that point nobody could do anything but pray that the wing would hold up.

[@Dannyedelman4231]

​@chuckhickey9721 they always had a foam strike during launch of the shuttle they just were praying that the wing held up

[@vsirrmk]

@Dannyedelman4231 It's just so sad, that it didn't hold for few more minutes of flight.. They almost made it. Even without sensors, even with that hole, if only the wing structure would hold a little longer..

[@Dannyedelman4231]

​@vsirrmk I know and the worst thing is that they found the helmets of the crew intact

[@nikkibest5010]

Just watching this is nerve wracking. I can't imagine actually being there and processing it 😢

[@juliansecomb3703]

They're so composed that it's really not obvious at what moment they knew it was all over for the crew.

[@ivanboesky1520]

They most likely all knew it was over on the 2nd Houston to Columbia coms check with no response. Before that when the Columbia pilot told them there was no commonality in the 4 failed sensors on the left wing they knew they had a major problem with the vehicle. There is so much redundancy in these systems that it would be almost impossible to also suddenly lose comms right after that without some type of catastrophic failure.

[@maggidon90]

They knew it all along.

[@IamMichaelB843]

There have been interviews where they discussed the foam strike in the week leading up to the re-entry.. They knew at 2:50 for sure when he said “I gotcha”

[@nathanduffy6565]

​@@maggidon90 You can see it on all of their faces, all throught the video, even before they lost comms.

[@RockinStacy]

Video footage from inside Columbia. kzbin.info/www/bejne/inqrfaKfoJeCmKMsi=a3VseVV_SxO0aHIq

[@Jme62]

I was in bed in Crockett, Texas under the flight path as the Columbia broke up, with the garage wall adjoining my bedroom wall. I remember the vibration being so strong that for a minute, I thought a big dually pickup truck had pulled into the garage. Only realized later what the sound was.

[@Cupo666]

There’s a photo of Kalpana Chawla taken through a tunnel to a module. She’s working at a panel with her hair and equipment all floating around her and she’s looking back over her shoulder towards the camera with a clipboard under her arm. It’s my favourite photo of any astronaut.

[@forrestallison1879]

Do you happen to have a link to that?

[@phx4closureman]

12:32 *that SINKING FEELING in your heart when THOSE words were uttered....RIP Columbia crew*

[@ONBOARDKLM]

Rather 11:55

[@kmclendon100]

I was watching on tv, my wife and son were in the front yard waiting to see it land (yes we live that close) as soon as I turned to our local space channel I saw the streaks and I immediately knew what was going on, called my wife and son in, my wife took one look at the screen and burst into tears’ we sat in silence and thought of not only the crew but all the workers in support, many of which were our friends. A terrible day. If possible Challanger was worse we watched it blow up and fall back down it was awful later we replayed video on our vcr. and we could see the burn through so we knew soon what happened again so many friends impacted they were like zombies when they finally got home bless them all

[@amynickerson4258]

I know someone who worked at Mission Control when this happened and it totally changed them

[@miketike3246]

@18:55, he knows he's got families of the astronauts literally a few feet away up in the viewing room all realizing that their loved ones are not coming back. The reality of the loss of life is bearing down on him like a 16 ton weight.

[@deBASHmode]

At this point, he’s talking about/talking to officials (Marty being one of those) who were responsible for coordinating with law enforcement to start the search for astronaut remains. It definitely hit him hard…tough to watch.

[@truefunksoul8638]

Family members were at the landing site in Florida, not here which is mission control in Houston.

[@bbcoach63]

I was driving from Dallas to Nacogdoches that morning and was on US 175 b/t Athens and Jacksonville when I saw the streak across the sky. I thought it was odd to be moving so fast (not like a trail from a jet). I will never forget that.

[@gulfbaby230]

That had to be terrifying for everyone in that room. Such a sad day. They remained so composed, knowing they most likely just lost 7 astronauts. Mr. Cain especially. When he said lock the doors you knew things were bad. May they all RIP 🙏🙏

[@bradbutcher3984]

My parents and I were in White Settlement just west of Fort Worth visiting my sister. My father came inside that morning around 8, telling us about seeing something breaking apart in the sky. I went outside to see the smoke trail. 15 minutes later, it was shown on the news

[@vintagelady1]

Flight Director looks as if he's like to throw something, smash something, pound his fists on the table. They all look like they are dying inside, but they have a job to do & that's what heroes do in a disaster. RIP, you are not forgotten, Columbia astronauts.

[@teresajennings1243]

I know everyone in the control room, as well as the shuttle crew, knew this was likely to happen upon reentry, because of that damage on the left wing...but it is just so sad looking at those faces in the control room, especially Cain, knowing all was lost. Such a tragedy.

[@peanut1001x]

noone knew this was likely to happen

[@GhostofMrsMuir1443]

You know what I see? I see people who get out of bed every morning and go to work and care. Smart people doing the best they can.

[@CodyKey-cq5cl]

I can’t imagine having to work through all of that after realizing you’ve lost your colleagues. The level of stress in that room….

[@michaelrowand898]

I wish this footage was lined up with a clock or mission timer

[@sidv4615]

why is there alway a cut at 5:05 ? All videos are missing that part between "nothing out of the ordinary" and "Tire pressure on both left"

[@R2Bl3nd]

Maybe you already know it but just for informational purposes, here's the relevant part of the transcript with the missing portion: SARAFIN: Control's been stable through the rolls that we've done so far, Flight, we have good trims. I don't see anything out of the ordinary. CAIN: OK. MMACS, Flight. KLING: Flight, MMACS. CAIN: All other indications for your hydraulic system indications are good? KLING: They're all good, we've had good quantities all the way across. CAIN: And the other temps are normal? KLING: The other temps are normal, yes sir. CAIN: And when you say you lost these, are you saying that they went to zero (illegible text). KLING: All four of them are offscale low. CAIN: Four offscale low. KLING: And they were all staggered, they were, like I said, within several seconds of each other. CAIN: OK. (long pause) JONES: Flight, FDO. (illegible text) CAIN: FDO, Flight. JONES: We have the balloon, it is being run through DDS right now. KLING: Flight, MMACS. CAIN: Go. KLING: We just lost tire pressure on left outboard and left inboard, both tires.

[@smedleyx]

probably the video was shot intermittently. Looks like one guy getting a variety of shots, but turns out he happened to be recording a bad day. I'm surprised there was video footage at all.

[@timcrnkovic8991]

It's too bad that the video is omitted there because a critical piece of information is reported from MMACS during that gap. Kling says that hyd returns temps are not reading zero but rather that they were offscale low. So it wasn't that the sensors were working and reading a quantity of zero; the sensors just weren't working at all, which was obviously indicative of a severe problem.

[@nolancain8792]

@@timcrnkovic8991with “no commonality.” A statement that likely sent shivers down Leroy, indicated by his pause.

[@Steamerbeen]

@@R2Bl3ndso basically the wing fell off at this point?

[@Έμποροςθανάτου]

I was 12 years old when Challenger exploded. I saw it explode in real time. I live in Georgia and we had been sent home from school early because it was bitter cold and the furnace malfunctioned at my school. 17 years later I was was ij front of my computer, drinking coffee in my own little house and half paying attention when the news broke the story. Space Shuttle Columbia was no more. I remember both like they happened this morning. The infuriating part is that both disasters were preventable, but the people calling the shots chose to ignore the warnings they had gotten from the engineers and proceed with missions.

[@tchender1]

When Cain said "lock the doors" it got serious. My place in Navarro County had white foam parts all over it from the Shuttle. We had a line walk done on our property and they picked up all the white foam parts.

[@trenken]

Right before that i think that guy behind him was telling him debris was seen. At that moment he knew for sure it was all over.

[@thegeneticsgirl]

It’s NASA protocol that in the event of a disaster, they lock the doors in order to preserve all evidence. The conversation he had just before it was telling him that debris had been seen.

[@davidbenz2280]

First they lost the hydraulics on the aft left wing, which control the ailerons. Then, it was the pressure in the left inboard and outboard tires. Flight Control knew about the left wing foam strike on launch. When the left side of the shuttle began to show failed telemetry, they immediately knew what was happening. They knew the crew was lost at 5:30.

[@marclefebvre7071]

Thanks for the analysis. It is intersting they new about the foam strike at launch. Wonder if they believed the foam strike caused further damage to the shuttle which would compromise the ability of the shuttle to stay in tact upon returning to the earth's atmosphere.

[@henrikMandersen]

​@@marclefebvre7071A lot of people feared that the foam caused problems. But for different reasons it was not examined thoroughly. There had been many cases of foam breaking of the external tank, but nothing happened and it was not tested if foam could harm the heat tiles, before after the loss of Columbia. BBC has made a quite good documentary of the accident. A toxic company culture was properly one of reasons for the accident

[@MattF340]

@@marclefebvre7071 They never looked as they overruled the engineers that were concerned about exactly that. NASA learned absolutely *nothing* from Challenger.

[@unprofound]

@@MattF340 I believe they didn't have the crew investigate damage because there was nothing they could have done to repair it. Not saying it was the right call. But it would have been horrific for the crew to learn that they had no way home.

[@jaybee7890]

12:35 Lock the Doors

[@michaeluden7689]

What doors?

[@vemene]

@@michaeluden7689 The doors to the building. It is part of the procedure to make sure that all the data are preserved. No one leaves, there is no uncontrolled outside contact, and nothing exits the building until absolutely all the forensics are fully secured onsite, to enable the subsequent exhaustive engineering analysis of everything involved in the incident.

[@publicmail2]

They knew they where losing the craft at 4:50, they also knew the insulation may have damage leading edge of wing after launch. There was nothing they could do anyway.

[@maggidon90]

They knew they wouldn't make it back right after the launch

[@johnforealdoe8999]

They knew the craft was lost at 1:45.

[@xzaz2]

@@johnforealdoe8999 When they are not connected... it's almost gg there is only one thing that causes that.

[@raywhitehead730]

I remember so well. Retired Navy Aviator. I was driving home,. In Southern California. It was a beautiful sky , completely clear blue no clouds. The contrail was super wide. So much so, that I pulled over and stopped and got out if the car to get a better look. I had never seen such a large contrail. And I had seen many missiles in the sky in my lifetime. Then it dawned on me, it had to be the Columbia.

[@alliemarie3539]

Thank you for your service. 👍

[@MindofMatter]

@11:54 what did that guy see where his face was visibly shaken and he told that woman and Flight Director...all his shuttle data disappear or radar contact disappear or something?

[@twinlamp]

If I recall from other interviews, that guy started getting reports of visual confirmation of the break up from people observing the re-entey. That's what he tells the flight director and why the flight director gives up and orders the door locked.

[@MindofMatter]

@twinlamp thank you, that makes a lot of sense. So sad I watched this live on TV from the car dealership I worked at

[@omnissiah]

" At approximately 9:06, when Columbia would have been conducting its final maneuvers to land, Mission Control member Phil Engleauf received a phone call concerning news coverage of the orbiter breaking up. This information was passed on to the Entry Flight Director, LeRoy Cain, who initiated contingency procedures."

[@JPM-NM]

When astronaut Ellen Ochoa says “Oh God. Oh my God.” at 12:05 that gets me every time.

[@cirsiumc]

@@JPM-NM Yes, I couldn't lipread everything the guy who told her was saying but he did say to Cain that 4 - 5 plumes were observed.

[@smedleyx]

very nice to see a higher-res version of this -- been trying to lip-read what Phil Engleauf said to Leroy Cain just before contigency was declared

[@cgsrdogfighter94]

Who in the video is Phil Engleauf? Sorry, but I only know LeRoy Cain

[@childofcascadia]

@smedleyx Ive been trying to do that forever too. The woman in the black jacket clearly says "oh god" when told whatever he said (but we cant see him). If anyone can, thatd be awesome. I think the absolute first thing he says is "we lost them" but im not sure.

[@deBASHmode]

⁠​⁠@@cgsrdogfighter94Phil’s the guy behind LeRoy - he was a flight director who had moved up into management.

[@cgsrdogfighter94]

@deBASHmode OK thank you

[@sammyday3341]

@@cgsrdogfighter94Probably referring to the man with the mustache behind Cain. Next to the lady who is standing.

[@SurviveTheDay]

As members of the engineering community, we are held to the highest standards. Both shuttle disasters serve as stark reminders of NASA's failure in this regard. At 1:40 in this video, we can hear communication from the shuttle indicating the first signs of trouble. However, the ground control personnel do not immediately involve the engineering team to review schematics and troubleshoot the issue. The cascading failures continue until it is all over for the crew of STS-107. A heartbreaking loss that is felt even to this day. RIP, crew of STS-107.

[@highball7347]

Had already begun to de orbit. Not a single thing anyone could have done at that point. It was over no matter what.

[@danielmartinez3210]

I’m assuming nothing could have been anyways? How would you tell the crew they are about to die? Sad😢

[@GeorgeVreelandHill]

The ultimate professionals. They knew it was over, but they did their jobs while dealing with human emotions. If I was an astronaut, I would want them in charge of my flight.

[@miketike3246]

I absolutely hate the moment where you hear from Columbia "Roger, uhh but..." then nothing but choppy static, and the Comm. guy repeating "UHF comm. check", and then nothing but silence.

[@Fella-v6l]

At 9:12:39 a.m. (E+1710, or 28 minutes-plus), Columbia should have been banking on the heading alignment cone to line up on Runway 33. At about this time, a member of the Mission Control team received a call on his cell phone from someone who had just seen live television coverage of Columbia breaking up during re-entry. The Mission Control team member walked to the Flight Directorʼs console and told him the Orbiter had disintegrated. Flight: “GC, - Flight. GC - Flight?” GC: “Flight - GC.” Flight: “Lock the doors.” Having confirmed the loss of Columbia, the Entry Flight Director directed the Flight Control Team to begin contingency procedures. -Columbia Accident Investigation Board Report, Vol. 1, Aug. 2003, p.44

[@corgisandtea8257]

Thank you for this.

[@lisro21]

I was a kid in Dallas when this happened! I still remember everything like it was yesterday.

[@Highland_Moo]

I was on the first day of my honeymoon when this tragedy happened. I was here in Scotland but felt terrible for the families of those who perished.

[@tonyrogers5858]

Columbia survived max heating, which occurs just east of Australia. When she hit thick air is when the wing failed at about mach 9.

[@lorilori3]

I recall this as I was watching the news wanting to watch the landing. They had cut to mission control waiting for the same, as this played out. It was heartbreaking to watch, trying to process what all was happening. 🙏

[@natch27]

NASA officials were very aware of the foam strike to the left wing during takeoff. I’m sure the look on the faces of some of the controllers at the 3 minute mark when the four sensors failed on the left wing was deep concern that the shuttle was in trouble.

[@dukesmsd]

I have several friends who are astronauts and all flew after this accident. It’s tough to watch your friends go up, super stressful on the families, I can’t imagine how hard it was to stay in the game once they realized what had happened. Very professional group of patriots on the shuttle and in that room!

[@elliottwilford6457]

Do they lose communication on re-entry? I know that might sound stupid but I’m not that clued up. When he started com-checks we’re they suppose to be through the re-entry? I hope this makes sense 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@stevenospam4216]

Yes, Godspeed Columbia crew. And God bless all of Mission Control, as Lunar and Walter wrote a year ago. I watched this launch from Orlando and really felt the Internet news feed.

[@firstname2807]

12:52 "FIDO do you have any tracking" means "Please God dont let this be real."

[@jonathanday6692]

According to what I can find online, there was a 33 second period in which the crew of the shuttle fought to regain control and must therefore have been both conscious and aware that there was a catastrophe in progress. This awareness is the saddest part.

[@neurologylove2135]

My father worked for NASA, and we had the opportunity to watch his friend, Piers Sellers' (God rest his soul), launch. The night before the scheduled launch was a once in a lifetime experience as a kid. There was a large gathering in his honor with his family and friends. There was memorabilia handed out, and we received our vip badges. We tracked the weather and were all anxious about if he would launch the next day. He did not btw. It was postponed 5 days I believe. I can't explain how excited everyone was. I only mention all this to drive home the point how exciting a launch is and how emotionally involved everyone is. To be so excited and hopeful and to see it all disappear in an instant has to be tragic beyond words. I can't imagine the pain their families went through sitring there and watching it all happen. Also, there are separate viewing areas. The closest area, you can feel some of the heat still despite being so far away. So now you add physical feelings of the heat and the emotional connection. I just can't imagine.

[@glenncoffey6385]

I remember watching the live coverage…a sad day

[@IH-oo3le]

I remember this day, that poor flight director

[@marceloluizfigueira7208]

@2:32 "No commonality." Meaning that the chance of those temperature sensors failing at the same time was zero. Different electrical source and probes. Unless something physically destroyed all of them at once. The information shared haunts everyone, clearly. They knew something bad was going on.

[@stevenesq]

Lock the doors is just chilling

[@denathompson5315]

What do they mean, "Lock the doors?"

[@stevenesq]

​@denathompson5315 they treat it like a crime scene. No Information gets out to the press.

[@thegeneticsgirl]

@@denathompson5315The main priority now is to preserve evidence, they literally lock the doors to prevent any people or data leaving the room, and distractions from entering it.

[@jasonmurawski5877]

​@denathompson5315 the doors are locked. Phones are shut off too. Nobody gets in or out until all the information and evidence of what was happening when the crew was lost gets preserved

[@theherd5830]

The Space Shuttle is the greatest most complex machine ever made by man. It has over one million individual parts. I’m not a “rocket scientist” but there was nothing, not a sensor, camera etc that said “there is a big hole under the wing in the heat shield”? Insane.

[@robinm1729]

The only type of "sensor" capable of detecting the damage would've been the camera mounted on the RMS (remote manipulator system), or the "arm." Columbia didn't have the arm on this mission. Engineers worried about the possible damage to the wing made several requests to get military satellites to take detailed pics if the strike area. They were denied by management, who didn't want to screw up the crew's experiment schedule.

[@rn9119]

Horrific- as a freshman in college when this happened, this was HORRIFIC💔

[@MT-rg4zb]

I was watching CNN live showing this landing. When the shuttle didn’t land and the minutes ticked by, the reporter said, shuttles are not like planes - they don’t “run late”. I knew what he was saying, but couldn’t believe it. So heart-breaking.

[@gamehengeful]

I went to a Jimmy Buffett concert that night at Phillips Arena in Atlanta. Before the show, he came out onstage and said that, if they had had time, he would have canceled the show out of respect for the astronauts, but to please keep them in your thoughts.

[@nlabanok]

It's always been a puzzle to me how the instrumentation such as thermocouples and pitot tubes still transmit continuous data back to mission control and yet voice comms from the shuttle are impeded by the plasma around the shuttle. Anyone know anything about how the instrumentation data continues to get through but not voice comms ?

[@mathursharad007]

Good point. Low frequency transmission of sensors versus voice transmissions which travel over higher frequencies That would be my guess.

[@chrisclauder6630]

I was at the cape waiting for the return suddenly we were asked to leave. Rest in peace crew,

[@nuancolar7304]

Of course, we now know that this wasn't as much of a surprise to many in that control room as was initially thought. They saw the foam strike on the wing not long after the launch, and it had been discussed extensively by NASA officials, engineers, and others. There was little or nothing that could be done about any damage it might have caused, and they had no option but to go through the re-entry process and hope for the best.

[@randallmunson2098]

I remember seeing the Shuttle Challenger explode live on the large screen tv in the main bar while in the Desert Inn Resort in Las Vegas Nevada. We had just celebrated the Chicago Bears Super Bowl victory at my home in Laguna Hills, Ca two days earlier.

[@SpicyTexan64]

You were in the main bar at 8:40 am? Ok 👌

[@randallmunson2098]

@ Damn right ……. It’s Las Vegas. Waiting to open a beer at 12:00 pm …….. you can leave that at home.

[@ramilv739]

Just like the Challenger footage, every time I watch , I always have some hope that this time they will make it.

[@bonniecoughenour7898]

Does anyone know who the man in the dark gray shirt next to the flight director is?

[@thegeneticsgirl]

That’s the CapCom, he’s in charge of communication between ground team and flight team

[@davidanderson4091]

This is Charles Hobough (CapCom for this mission) an astronaut and veteran of STS-104, STS-118 and STS 129

[@jarrettfullerton2580]

If you watch carefully, you can see Leroy's hands trembling at certain points... the adrenaline and fear must have been just pounding him. Anyone that has been in a crisis or heavily in shock knows the feeling. So awful.

[@CinemaDemocratica]

Any reason why the audio is only in the left channel?

[@SimonHollandfilms]

so tragic...what you probably dont know is the shuttle had sat uplink voice tx during re entry...we have never heard that.

[@MrChappy39]

"Not too bad"...most understated words spoken. Understandable that the controllers didn't have all the necessary info.

[@p6x2]

At 12"05", you can see the lady behind the flight director saying "oh god" after the guy in the gray suit says something. I think this guy got information that fireballs had been spoted in the sky above Texas, where the shuttle should have been. This is when he informs the flight director. I am not an expert at reading lips, but I think there is the word "debris" among what he says. Immediaately after comes the lock the doors command. Edit: I watched the post accident interview given by the flight director, and he just confirms what I wrote above. They got unconfirmed reports of falling debris. This is exactly what the guy in the gray suit told him.

[@davidanderson4091]

That lady is former astronaut Dr Ellen Ochoa, and the man next to her is Phil Engelhauf, a retired NASA flight director, acting as a mission operations official. What you are seeing is the moment shortly after Engelhauf receives a call from Bryan Austin, an off duty flight director in West Texas who had just witnessed the breakup of Columbia. Engelhauf leans over to Dr Ochoa and by the look on her face and her response, its not hard to tell what he said to her. He relays the same message to FD Cain, and the call "lock the doors" comes moments later.

[@p6x2]

@@davidanderson4091 thanks for putting names on the people!

[@bajoobiecuzican]

12:32 when he said “lock the doors”, what does he mean?

[@tonyk501]

The flight director's order to "lock the doors" means that all data needs to be preserved in its current state, and that no one may leave or enter mission control so as to ensure there is no possibility of tampering with the data, as it would later be carefully scrutinized and examined by multiple NASA investigative teams to try and understand why the disaster occurred, resulting in the deaths of seven astronauts. The order is also given to ensure that no outbound communications are made to prevent any leak of information or data.

[@bajoobiecuzican]

@ thank you. It makes perfect sense.

[@catherinebreitfeller669]

It is a miracle that so few people were lost. It could have been so much worse.

[@shanet5604]

More than Titan…

[@maryjennings228]

"Comand is over" "lock all the doors".........horrible to this day. Peace-out 🌎✨️

[@johnshelton2214]

I hope this will be a helpful clarification. The quote is actually "command us over" . They were doing anything they could to establish communication with the orbiter. The Instrumentation and Communication officer (INCO for short) offered to switch to a different radio configuration. The Flight Director responds "command us over". In other words, enter the commands into the system that will move us to the new configuration.

[@michaelleslieviola5743]

I’ve seen so many videos of this disaster. This one provides me the viewpoint of Mission Control & how slow the news traveled to what happened. 12:08 when the news became apparent.

[@ACMusicland]

Compelling. So, was the Shuttle crew aware of the damage? And were they aware of the potential risks upon re-entry?

[@orchidsrosesg_disone4431]

I remember this as if yesterday.

[@Ravege98]

Some of the segments seem spliced out of order, is it known for certain all of the footage here is time coded correctly to the audio? Not looking for conspiracies, just genuinely curious.

[@bobpourri9647]

Yep. There is some editing here that actually cuts out vital dialog.

[@seethetrain]

They had a pretty good idea that this was going to happen. They knew about the damaged wing and there was nothing that they could do about it.

[@mattshelley6946]

what does the man say to FD at 12:10 - looks like "There is a white hot, reported visual of four to five xxxx all the way through" - is this the first reports of visual on the ground?

[@jarrettfullerton2580]

I'm not a good lip reader but I think he says something like "total loss." At one point

[@DripsMalone]

I know instrumentation and telemetry are way more informative and accurate than video from the ground, but I'm surprised that Mission Control didn't have at least one part of their megascreen showing something like what everyone else saw on the news.

[@sensfanin]

NASA sacrificed this crew with negligence, apathy and being willfully blind to risks.

[@SandManny]

From what I understand, they knew when the foam hit that this was the likely scenario. Was the crew informed of this?

[@kbuss10]

11:54 whats been said there? any info? thx

[@ABrocavich]

I’m pretty sure that’s where they heard of eyewitness reports of the shuttle breaking up.

[@kbuss10]

@ABrocavich thx Mate. makes sense. :(

[@conenubi701]

News coverage was live and started airing that reports were about a trailing fireball across the skies where the Columbia was supposed to be making re-entry. That's when the decision was made to lock the doors, so no outside information came in, and no inside information got out until they were prepared to address the outside world. NASA has a contingency plan for disasters so the engineers can go through the data first so it cannot get misinterpreted by the outside media (because people always rush to be the "first" to break news)

[@Beamin-vt7jm]

When the expression is on their face changed and everybody stood up they may have gotten word that there was pieces of Columbia coming out of the air over Texas. I was a senior in HS when this happened. We were watching it on the news in class.

[@davidfleming4052]

I had a friend up there too--from high school. So sad.

[@Heathen________________172]

What the hell are you talking about?

[@MikeMcRoberts]

Why did they not have a live video feed of the launch?

[@Shuttlesource]

It was live

[@AURELlONS0L]

Not sure what you mean here. The launch was broadcasted live and filmed. You can go rewatch it on youtube and elsewhere.

[@iridescentpeacock]

@@AURELlONS0LI think they mean why does it seem like the people in this room aren't watching video footage of the explosion in real time

[@dontbescaredhomie3137]

"Lock the doors" The three words every controller fears.

[@tj3988]

I think "lock the doors" is a signal for "we lost our crew" granted im sure they actually did lock the door.