What Happened To Space Shuttle Columbia - DISASTER BREAKDOWN

This video went After over two weeks in Space, disaster struck on Space Shuttle Columbia. Upon reentry into the Earth's atmosphere, the shuttle broke apart due to a severe weakness in the left wing which was cause on launch.
CORRECTION: In this video I mentioned that the SRBs are connected to the Orbiter Vehicle, the SRBS are infact connected to the External Fuel Tank. A thank you to those in the comments section for pointing that out.
Sources:
archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS...
www.nasa.gov/pdf/298870main_S...
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sh...
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sh...
www.nasa.gov/columbia/crew/
spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/st...
www.britannica.com/event/Colu...
engineering.mit.edu/engage/as...
• How did the Space Shut...
• Space Shuttle Columbia...
insulation.org/io/articles/gr...
s3.amazonaws.com/akamai.netsto...
• STS-107 Space Shuttle ...

[@DisasterBreakdown]

Small Corrections. - Astronaut Kalpana Chawla achieved a PhD in Aerospace Engineering. In this video I did not address her as Dr. Kalpana Chawla as I should have. - As a couple people have pointed out here, the Solid Rocket Boosters on the Space Shuttle are actually connected to the External Fuel Tank and not the Orbiter Vehicle. Thanks to those for that info, my apologies.

[@Ambious]

You also misspelled Ilan Ramon's first name

[@daviddavis]

Also don’t the srbs separate after about 1 minute? Also the thing about the rolls to cool it is also used for descent to minimize lift. Cool video either way

[@X-JAKA7]

Can you please see if you can do a video on Space Shuttle Challenger STS-51L? Thank you!

[@StormVet6]

The wing section that was used for testing actually came from Enterprise. They used reinforced carbon-carbon because they could not mold tiles into the proper shape for the leading edge, and to save weight.

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

There were six Shuttles built with _Enterprise_ flying several test missions in 1977.

[@ckotcher1]

You know what’s so sad and chilling? If you Watch the in shuttle video in the minutes before the explosion or before it burned on reentry I should say, the crew in the cockpit are all joking saying “I’m glad I’m not outside right now” as their reentry started and they could see the flames. (Note: seeing flames is actually normal on reentry but obviously they aren’t supposed to burn through the core of the shuttle)

[@iitzfizz]

Right a few minutes later they would be outside. Albeit probably dead at that point. RIP to them.

[@kevjones5055]

Outdated technology and poor management killed them not the flames

[@astrobrady2396]

@kev Jones actually it was because of piece of foam broke off the external tank and broke off a wing tile and then the heat seeped through and tore apart the shuttle and they died because of the heat but the phone that broke off was intentional and what happened to this mission could’ve happened to every mission

[@kevjones5055]

@@astrobrady2396 yeah a bunch of company man bone heads in charge

[@DonaldMcNuGGeT]

Yet people blame NASA for this, but who’s fault is it really, they had to if known the shuttle was damaged and even ignorantly the pilots I’m assuming thought they were bad ass and ignored that problem and well here we see what happened as the result

[@aidancoutts2341]

I heard that they did a mock foam strike test for days and days. It never made a dent for the longest time. Then one attempt, at just the right angle, at just the right spot, at just the right speed; the foam obliterated the wing. Going against every bit of testing they did prior. Freak accident.

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

The foam broke a 12-inch by 18-inch hole in one RCC panel. The problem was that NASA was forced to use substandard tank foam because CFCs were outlawed.

[@Galactis1]

Yeah, there was a report and a video of those tests. Very correct indeed.

[@jarigustafsson7620]

The foam had previously damaged the tiles on the orbiter but NASA concluded that it was because the glue just had lost it's strenght and foam or ice strikes happend often but had not made any big holes before.

[@Redman680]

Wrong. NASA were reticent to release the panels & it took a lot of pressure to get them. The panel that was damaged, was the last one that was tested, merely because of NASA delays. Better not post if you don't know the facts. 👌

[@aidancoutts2341]

@@Redman680 could you provide more information? Did they test on panels for different parts of the craft? And only at the ery end of mock strike testing did they use the actual kind of panels where the hole was created? Or are you saying something else? Are you stating that the testing did not happen over and over and that it merely took a long time to get the mock foam tests underway? I only stated what I had heard, not what I had known. Maybe I misinterpreted what was said in the documentary.

[@jfiorello68]

I remember that morning. Here in Central Florida we would hear and feel Twin sonic booms whenever a shuttle returned to KSC, but that morning there were none. On TV, they said they had lost contact with the shuttle. A very sad day.

[@manuelvalentin2648]

I remember it as well. I'm from Orlando and would always say outloud 'welcome home boys! whenever I'd hear the sonic boom. I miss those days.

[@giospage]

Columbia never even came close to Florida, it blew up over Houston

[@hlowrylong]

@@giospage It would land in FL. I lived in Orlando and would hear the boom too. Always seemed to wake me up as I was newly pregnant and trying to get as much sleep as possible.

[@jogman262]

I turned the TV on and the headline on the bottom saying they had lost contact with Columbia and knew it was not going to end up good. What torture that must have been for people waiting at the Cape for Columbia to land and the clock hitting zero and nothing.

[@pigeoncube8881]

my dad used to keep note of every time a shuttle was coming in over us, and i think that morning he was listening to the NASA radio. i was a kid so i dont remember much, but i do remember him obsessively following the investigation every step that was publicly available. he loved the shuttle programme and when columbia was destroyed, he felt that they would scrap the shuttle programme altogether, sad that he was right about that, but i cherish the family moments it gave us while it still was operating

[@MrPvtrandall]

My Father was part of an Elks Lodge group that helped scour the fields in Texas for missing parts. They were each given an official shuttle patch and a replica of the Columbia Shuttle for their efforts.

[@dbmwy8521]

These lies in the comments are getting old

[@reneebrichta2937]

I lost a great friend that morning!

[@andrewdias478]

Wow they got a full sized space shuttle?

[@seerofallthatisobvious1316]

@@andrewdias478 Batteries not included though.

[@stt5v2002]

Tip for future decision makers. An event has to be evaluated to determine what it was and whether it is dangerous. When a big chunk of something hits the wing at enormous speed, you cannot just say “hey, something like that happened in 1989 and the ship didn’t explode. So we are good.” You have to actually figure out what happened and what that means.

[@JokersWild70]

Let's say that was done. Then what?

[@JokersWild70]

Let's say that was done. Then what?

[@LunaticTheCat]

Absolutely, but unfortunately even if they knew about the damage to the wing, there was pretty much nothing they could have done to save the astronauts since a rescue mission was virtually impossible.

[@TomahawksNShotShells]

@@LunaticTheCat couldn't they have docked and with iss and stayed there until either parts to fix the wing via space walk could have been flown up or they return with the soyuz space crafts?

[@charlesfaure1189]

@@LunaticTheCat Perhaps showering innocent people on the ground with debris and toxic fuels could have been avoided. Is appalls me that this little issue is never mentioned.

[@TheWtfnonamez]

A classic case of basing a diagnosis on the difficulty of the cure. They pretty much knew they were screwed if the wing was damaged, so they shrugged it off and said "nah it will be fine". Very poor management. They should have run the inspection space walk, and then dealt with the reality of outcome. RIP the astronauts.

[@breewaldenwomanizerforlife9341]

But they really didn't think it was a big deal from other examples.

[@krashd]

@@breewaldenwomanizerforlife9341 STS-27 almost had it's wing melted off in 1988 thanks to the exact same scenario, they knew exactly what could happen.

[@DonaldMcNuGGeT]

Their ignorance is what killed them as you said instead of taking precautions having to 100% known the shuttle was damaged they ignored that fact and paid the ultimate price as they say

[@TheAnalyticalObservers]

A single woman's decision doomed this crew, nothing else.

[@puppetmassster]

Apollo 12 was struck by lighting during launch, and there was a real concern that the mechanism that deploys the parachute wouldn't work during re-entry, but NASA had the same attitude back then too. Thankfully everything worked out.

[@butcherhanson9542]

Just crazy how a foam tile can cause so much damage especially against carbon material previously thought to be indestructible. Goes to show how crucial the planning process is for any space launch. Speculation and a rush job due to financial pressure can lead to a catastrophic lose of life and the financial cost exceeding the original balance. *Great breakdown, learned much about this process and what could happen when things are over looked and/or disregarded for time.*

[@cambriaofthevastoceans6721]

A stitch in time saves nine.

[@dietdrpepper15]

But physics shows why thats completely possible. If the same piece of foam in a human...bye bye human. Its not the object, its the speed of which it hits something else.

[@thesquirrel914]

I work with an engineer named Kevin Stevenson today on the Atlas program. He use to work shuttle. He was there that day in 2003, on the tarmac, at the shuttle landing facility, waiting for Columbia to come home. He knew all of the Columbia 7 personally. He said to me quote. "That is a feeling I never want to feel ever again."

[@terribleTed-ln6cm]

My mother who lives 45 minutes southwest of Dallas was watching that day .....and she still talks about it to this day with a tear in her eye.

[@Oklahomarailfan.]

A lot of people seem to confuse the rolls as a braking maneuver to find lift, when it’s actually quite the opposite, it’s to try and point as little lift upward as possible to avoid skipping out of the atmosphere, if you point your lift sideways you can keep going down

[@dalethelander3781]

Also to bleed off energy.

[@ExperimentIV]

damn, i remember watching the news the day this happened. i was really young and remember not really understanding what happened or how it happened. i mean, i was born too late to know anything useful about challenger. now i look back on the two incidents as NASA at its absolute worst - both disasters could have been completely averted, but it wasn’t worth the money/time/extra weight/whatever.

[@watchgoose]

I was with a friend at a seminar down towards Houston, got up that morning and it was on the news... pieces falling in the area.

[@ExperimentIV]

@@watchgoose damn, i wasn't in texas at all (i was in ontario), i can't imagine how it must have felt to know that most of the debris fell in the state you were in

[@archangel6666]

Wasn’t nasas fault. The government wasn’t giving them the funds they needed to make improvements.

[@piaaadah]

@@archangel6666 that's no excuse, if they didn't have the needed improvements then they should've never taken off period.

[@iitzfizz]

I remember watching it on the news too, I was on holiday in Turkey and 13 at the time. I'll never forget those images of the shuttle breaking up over Texas.

[@whatweather]

I can’t believe it wasn’t mandatory before this for inspection of the spacecraft before descending back to Earth! They just hoped for the best that it didn’t suffer any trauma during its launch?!

[@Director_Orson_Krennic]

They didn't really have a way to inspect it though. The orbiter didn't have a Canadarm in the payload to mount a camera on, it was orbiting over a different part of the earth than the ISS, and the only satellite nearby that could have photographed something was a formerly classified USAF spy satellite that NASA was declined the ability to use. Oh, and there's no handholds or tether mounts on the wings or belly of the shuttle for a spacewalk, so any slightly wrong push in even a tenth if a degree in the wrong direction would send an astronaut on an EVA spiralling away to be lost to space

[@alunesh12345]

@@Director_Orson_Krennic Believe in JESUS today, confess and repent of your sins. No one goes to heaven for doing good but by believing in JESUS who died for our sins. Hell isn't fun. GOD loves you soo much unconditional❤🙌❤😘

[@dalethelander3781]

@@Director_Orson_Krennic Also, there weren't any pressure suits for an EVA, nor any PLSS backpacks. Just those baggy orange jumpsuits with helmets.

[@Mathemagical55]

@@Director_Orson_Krennic NASA wasn't denied use of a DoD satellite. The dangerously incompetent Linda Ham killed the request from ever being made. It almost certainly wouldn't have made any difference but she didn't know that.

[@Eric_Hutton.1980]

I remember both the Challenger and Columbia disasters. Both tragedies taking the lives of 14 brave souls.

[@nigelmurphy6761]

Same here.

[@nancylamar2525]

And as my father before me we lost 2 more souls

[@PlanetGuy901]

At least I never planned to be an astronaut to go on a spaceship... Imagine the dangers

[@40clap55]

@@PlanetGuy901Astronauts are extremely brave human beings

[@PlanetGuy901]

Well, even the bravest people have fears. Astronauts included. As President Ronald said in his speech “but they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly.” Even the captain of the Challenger shuttle knew something bad was gonna happen before the shuttle exploded. And with his last words being “Uh oh” before disaster struck, it was clear he knew what was going in, and I could only imagine the fear in his eyes when he realized what was going on… As brave as an astronaut would be on the outside, there would still be fear on the inside.

[@ezefinkielman4672]

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." Richard Feynman

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

The problem was the NASA was forced to use substandard foam because CFCs were outlawed.

[@markr.devereux3385]

Like the so-called moonlandings done with 60s technology

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

@@markr.devereux3385 1960s rocket technology is the same as today's. In fact, technology today has regressed, newbie to the planet. Your toy phone, bong, and Nintendont don't count. Now run along and clean some toilets

[@baneverything5580]

@@markr.devereux3385 Your lack of education is showing....

[@markr.devereux3385]

@@baneverything5580 Sorry I. just like people or educaters telling me what I should or shouldn't believe. That comes under your preference for mind control. 😝❤️

[@elizabethtrudgill3567]

A detail appeared in the series Stargate SG1 after this tragedy happened, the patches on their costumes portrayed seven stars in a circle. One for each astronaut.

[@whoever6458]

I remember watch Challenger launch live as a little kid but I think I saw the home video of the Columbia breaking apart later on. It was really sad. My family used to always pay attention to shuttle stuff because we're a bunch of space nerds.

[@nqrissafn]

you have tha best family 😊 space nerds are the best

[@helenwilliams7065]

I've always been fascinated by the space program, and have watched everything from Gemini splashdowns, the moon landing, Apollo 13 crisis, Challenger's avoidable demise, and the tragic death of Columbia and crew. Nice job, as always, and very tastefully done. Of course, if you want more details about what happened to the shuttle and the search for parts and whatever human remains that was identifiable, there are many sources out there. I think your videos are very respectful to those who lose their lives in these disasters. RIP Columbia.

[@josephweiss1559]

Apollo 1 was the first accident that occured on Jan. 27, 1967

[@I_am_a_cat_]

The Columbia hills is a beautiful idea. I feel for their families.

[@AtheistOrphan]

A beautiful IDEA?

[@ExperimentIV]

genuinely surprised (especially since you’re usually way more thorough than i could ever hope to be!) that you don’t bring up STS-27, a shuttle launch in 1988 that caused worse foam strike damage to atlantis overall, but luckily took place over a thick steel plate which melted through and iirc was starting to melt through the aluminum skin but survived because of how thick it was (so not everything would wear away). it was a classified DoD payload, and astronaut Hoot Gibson, who was one of the crew members on STS-27 said he could only send Mission Control heavily encrypted video. On his end, though, the video was crystal clear, and it was obvious that the foam strike had caused massive damage. he was convinced they would burn up on reentry. when the shuttle successfully landed, everyone who saw the damage was horrified. so NASA knew how badly things could go, and we could have lost atlantis and the shuttle programme before 1990 if not for where the foam strike on atlantis occurred. NASA knew this could be a problem that led to fatalities since at LEAST late 1988, and the columbia disaster still occurred.

[@ChicagoMel23]

Agreed

[@frenchkiss8789]

Maybe he will in the future

[@SpicyPTV]

There were too many shuttles to count that suffered damage from the External fuel tank on launch, talking about every example would take up to much time

[@ExperimentIV]

@@SpicyPTV sts-27 was almost columbia-level. it’s relevant

[@PF9O]

Didn't they flagrantly and nonchalantly call it "popcorning"

[@MattH-wg7ou]

"Columbia, Houston, UHF comm check" ... "Columbia, Houston, UHF comm check" ... "Columbia, Houston, UHF comm check" ... ... God, that still haunts me.

[@Ravenfellblade]

Wow. So hard to believe the shuttle program has been retired for ten years!

[@jogman262]

I miss the shuttle.

[@XxprobertsonxX]

Really appreciate the writing and execution of this. Super professional.

[@ChicagoMel23]

They actually knew about the problem with foam since the second mission after Challenger. That shuttle was more damaged but made it because the damage was in a less sensitive area. The crew didn’t think they’d make it. Accurate pictures weren’t taken because the mission was classified and the low resolution pictures didn’t clearly show the damage.

[@sagekim5455]

For those asking why they didn't do a spacewalk to inspect, I remember reading an article more than 10 years ago about a nasa engineer that kept saying they need to do a spacewalk to inspect. The article said back during that time, the head of NASA was not a scientist, but a businessman, and it was determined to forgo the walk because the spacewalk was $1 mil per walk. The article also did say that had they found the hole very little could have been done as the next shuttle in the rotation was no where near ready to launch and it simply would not have been enough time for the astronauts to survive (with onboard resources) until help.

[@Despond]

Yes there was no way it could have survived yet people think it was a simple matter of space walking outside and fixing it.

[@alunesh12345]

@@Despond Believe in JESUS today, confess and repent of your sins. No one goes to heaven for doing good but by believing in JESUS who died for our sins. Hell isn't fun. GOD loves you soo much unconditional❤🙌❤😘

[@Brian-zo1ll]

I have nothing but love and respect for our astronauts. That's why it always breaks my heart to see them lose their lives. As we stand on the verge of going back to the moon and eventually mars, we can expect more accidents. But we cant let that stop us from exploring space.

[@BlackFlash7]

Thanks for this. I can find a million vids for Challenger but rarely anything about Columbia that I can sink my teeth into

[@ShuckfacedShank]

Yes! I was so excited when I saw this in my notifications! Can you also maybe do a dedicated video on the Challenger disaster? Great video as always!

[@DisasterBreakdown]

Challenger will get its own video at some point for sure.

[@ShuckfacedShank]

@@DisasterBreakdown awesome! Keep up the amazing work!

[@YanDaOne_QC]

@@DisasterBreakdown it would be great if you could do a couple of true disasters videos between those space shuttle psy-op propaganda

[@liezel4968]

challenger has its own documentary in Netflix

[@ShuckfacedShank]

@@liezel4968 I've watched that one. It was really good

[@maureenobrien4968]

I wish I lived in a better world, with the crew home safe with their families, and Columbia resting peacefully in the Smithsonian. It still saddens me that wasn't the case...

[@lindawakiyama1603]

Hi there. Since you’ve done this one on the Challenger disaster, would you consider doing one on NASA’s first big disaster-the very first Apollo1 when 3 astronauts were killed when the capsule they were training in caught fire? The astronauts were Gus Grissom, from the Mercury 7 program, Roger Chaffee, from the Gemini program (I think), and Scott Carpenter (spelling?). One of the last two did the first walk in space, best that I remember since it all happened when I was a little girl. If you would I’d greatly appreciate it. Also, kudos for always putting so much time and effort in your Disaster Breakdowns, you videos are always worth watching.

[@jogman262]

We’ve had some type of accident in all phases of space flight. Apollo 1 on the ground during a countdown dress rehearsal. Challenger on the way to orbit. Gemini 8 while in orbit. Apollo 13 in deep space on the way to the moon. Columbia on re entry and Apollo 15 with a failed chute on splashdown.

[@carolc.4835]

The three astronauts who were killed on January 27, 1967 were Gus Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee. Scott Carpenter died on October 10, 2013.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

@@jogman262 Only thing missing is crashing someone into the moon (or another object outside Earth) and leaving someone there. But at least Apollo13 ended up with everyone returning home safely.

[@jamesm.831]

Look up air canada flight 621, its an old lesser known one but i think youd find it interesting. One of Canadas deadliest crashes at the time.

[@28ebdh3udnav]

I don't think the video ended 4 mins before disaster, I think it was recorded but just not released out of respect of the crew

[@tetrafy70]

This was incredibly interesting! I've loved every video you've made so far but this one is my favorite.

[@gerardvinet8448]

A sad day in the realms of Space exploration. RIP .

[@TheKilljoy154]

very well edited videos you have sir, keep it up you are gonna have crazy growth.

[@nuancolar7304]

I can't help but wonder if cold temperatures may have been a factor in both Challenger and Columbia, but for different reasons. We know Challenger's O-ring issue was to some degree related to the cold which may have affected the seal in the SRB joint. Likewise, the cold may have made Columbia's insulation on the fuel tank a bit more brittle and susceptible to breaking away.

[@TUMARK2]

I read the accident investigation report. If the crew area had been designed to be a areodynamically stable shaped pod, not unlike ejection pods of some military jets, break up would have thrown the crew pod free and able to employe emergency parachutes. Odd thing was hydraulic system was a single system. Once hydraulics in wing damaged control was lost, yet the cars we drive have dual system hydraulics to avoid such loss of control. Another oddity was crash worthiness of helmets in race cars exceed the crash worthiness of shuttle helmets. Meaning violent turbulence causing head trauma would render astronaut unconscious and unable to perform emergency procedures. Hardening of hydraulics might have bought them a few more minutes of control and they were only minutes away from landing

[@bmused55]

This disaster was preventable. Some department head denied engineers access to photos taken of the shuttle post launch. Photos that showed the damage done to the heat tiles and wing. Photos that would have told the engineers there was a gaping hole. She denied access for no apparent reason. I hope she knows she killed not only the crew, but the Space Shuttle programme, and suffered guilt for the rest of her life.

[@dalethelander3781]

I'll name names. Linda Ham. They really didn't have photos. NASA engineers wanted Ham to ring up the National Reconaissance Office to re-position a spy satellite to photograph Columbia. Ham refused. They appealed to administrator Sean O'Keefe and he wouldn't overrule Ham. Ham is still alive, she's continued her career with NASA as chief of the JSC Partnership Office and is now Lead, NASA JSC's Technology Infusion. She was in charge of the Constellation program until it was cancelled and replaced with Orion-SLS.

[@mrsupremegascon]

And then ? What they could do to save the crew ? ISS was not in the same orbit plane, and no rescue mission could be made before they run out of oxygen. Even if they knew about the hole, they were condemned the moment the tile was damaged.

[@JimMac23]

There were no such photos taken. Instead there was a plan to take photos in space from an air force satellite. But the satellite was orbiting at a different height than the space shuttle, and it would have cost NASA $1 million to move the satellite. And the Air Force, which owned the satellite, was reluctant to move it.

[@nigelbond4056]

Another insightful and brilliantly produced video from my favourite channel. I remember the loss of Columbia as though it was yesterday, such a tragic loss of life and a beautiful craft. 🙏🏻

[@jlynn2724]

I remember watching this one on TV. It's crazy to think it was only a year and change since we had seen planes flying into buildings.

[@aquilarossa5191]

Here NZ a fishing company named their large trawlers and factory trawlers after space shuttles. Challenger sank and Columbia caught fire and burned out. Atlantis and Enterprise are still sailing.

[@rodrigueztamas3661]

I might be wrong, but as far as i remember, i read somewhere that the crew was informed of the damage through an encrypted connection (because of the classified nature of the mission). Because of the limited bandwidth of this connection they where sent low resolution images from which it was impossible for them to assess the gravity of the situation.

[@ExperimentIV]

that was STS-27 in 1988

[@musicalmiranda]

They were informed, but were told it was no concern, completely safe.

[@BrandanTheBroker]

So yes, in a deep dive by I think Scott Manley, the Flight Director sent an email to them informing them of the strike but saying it shouldn't be a problem.

[@ramisa7354]

I’ve realised that I have watched every single one of your videos and I still can’t get enough

[@forceoffriction]

Dr Clark was a friend of my dad My sister and I were young (8 and almost 10) but we knew so much about this launch and everything and it was absolutely crushing

[@cindytartt4048]

This is a really well presented video. I like your voice, pacing & relatively easy to understand explanations. Thank you from Brisbane. ❤

[@tdestroyer1882]

Nice vid man it’s nice to see somthing different other from aviation incidents.

[@DisasterBreakdown]

Thanks, glad you liked it. Yeah its good to branch out sometimes. I will be doing other incidents in the future, maybe rail or shipping. We'll see.

[@Ozymandias1]

It actually was an aviation incident as it happened to a spaceplane in the atmosphere.

[@bigsherk42069]

@@DisasterBreakdown you should do STS 27. Cool story of a similar accident that actually worked out. Other good space disasters: Spektre MIR collision Soyuz 11- only deaths in space. Space decompression Salyut 7 Soyuz 1 Apollo 1/13 VSS enterprise Soyuz 23. (My favorite. Capsul busted through ice at landing, was pulled under the ice) Soyuz T-10

[@tetrafy70]

@@DisasterBreakdown rail disasters please!!

[@cowboy9718]

Thank you for this video. Admirably clear, perfectly explanatory, impartial, and succinct. Many professional programme makers could learn from it.

[@JasonPullara]

The worst part of watching this was that it was a slow news week so every cable news network was broadcasting the reentry. While I was watching I caught the sonic boom and the wing flying apart. The anchors on CNN at the time were stating that it was normal to see something like that and that there was nothing to worry about. Even right up until the very last second when the shuttle clearly disintegrated, they were saying everything was normal. Meanwhile, everyone watching had to know SHTF and the crew was lost. Incredibly heartbreaking to see happen.

[@orbiter277]

I remember the first time I learned about Colombia. I wasn’t alive when it happened, but I remember watching something on it. Always makes me sad. But, the video is extremely well put together

[@animatedcowboy3416]

Absolutely horrible disaster 😢

[@botwitaprice]

Hind-site is always 20/20, as they say; scenarios are offered to show what could have been done, but in the end, a drastic change in the mission was not justified in view of past mission history, and on Columbia, a "hole in wing" alarm was not installed. Tragic indeed.

[@rubyexotic]

loving the variety of content!

[@marieelisa1]

Your videos always help understand better what happen, thank you

[@DisasterBreakdown]

Thank you for watching. I'm happy you like my videos

[@myshreksbox]

The Johnson space center has trees planted for memorials I think the challenger and Columbia are huge trees but it's been a while

[@JWUniverse]

God I was 16 at the time of this Disaster I just remembered sitting at Home glued to the News probably like all those in 1986 when Challenger Exploded. At that time I was learning about Challenger in our History books. Safe to say by time I Graduated High School both Columbia and 9/11 where just introduced to our History books. But I lived them so for me it wasn’t necessary! Keep making great content!

[@makon2824]

Thanks for the vid, I enjoy your videos. One revision though.. The SRBs were attached to the external tank, not the orbiter.

[@gooner72]

I remember, as an 8 year old, watching Columbia take off for the very first Space Shuttle launch on a TV as big as my house. Having visited Kennedy Space Centre 3 times, you see how big the SRB's and fuel tanks are and also how knackered the shuttles look after numerous missions. They used to have one outside on display but they moved one inside in a new display and you can see it up close and personal. Possibly the most moving and poignant thing on display at KSC is the monument with the names of all astronauts lost in the pursuit of excellence and human endeavour. RIP to all those who perished in human space exploration.

[@TomasstbergJacobsen]

Very nice video. Somber and on the case. Very good. Best regards, Tomas

[@floraexoticsfloraexotics]

Really enjoyed the video. Thanks very much for your efforts.. very educational ..

[@DisasterBreakdown]

Thank you for your kind comment

[@floraexoticsfloraexotics]

@@DisasterBreakdown Subscribed to your channel now.

[@ItsMadRiv]

This is so sad May they Rest In Peace

[@messiahsbythesackful6267]

I'm way late to this video, which is amazing, but I am commenting a recommendation: Packing for Mars by Mary Roach. It's an easy read but also full of the issues that NASA would like to figure out for the vehicle to Mars, from the fun section on recycling urine to the awful of crew safety and options that would save the astronauts if all falls apart. This last is where she writes on the recovery and autopsies of the Columbia crew in order to recreate how they died. She quotes extensive interviews with those involved, including a doctor who insisted on participating despite being married to Laurel Clark. The conclusions are stunning.

[@dalethelander3781]

Elon's got it figured out. 🙄

[@Nick2bad4u]

​@@dalethelander3781 not really.....

[@dalethelander3781]

@@Nick2bad4u Fine. YOU tell him.

[@Nick2bad4u]

@@dalethelander3781 you want to go up on starship?

[@dalethelander3781]

@@Nick2bad4u I'd rather go up on Orion-SLS.

[@TheUKNutter]

Your channel reminds me of Seconds From Disaster. I approve of your video.

[@robvenom1058]

It was just a few weeks ago one of the lead engineers for that tank told me this story. They launched even though he expressed his concern over the foam possibly being a danger should it come detached. Very interesting gentleman he is.

[@YanDaOne_QC]

Tell me his name and the name of the company he was working for at that time.... so we dont think you're just another guy lying through his teeth

[@robvenom1058]

@@YanDaOne_QC if you think I'm going to put a nice old man's name on the internet for you to harass him you are out of your mind. If you find the company that they contracted to for design and building of the tank, and cross reference with mississippi residents that are also on the FAA aircraft registry you can find him. He also explained the red light in the cockpit that the astronauts asked NASA to remove along with other information I assume is not public knowledge.

[@YanDaOne_QC]

@@robvenom1058 why would i want to harass this guy? All i want is a rock solid proof(not necessarily names) that you're not lying.... but you'll find any excuse for not having some,because you're a liar

[@YanDaOne_QC]

@@robvenom1058 Rob you're a liar

[@frenchkiss8789]

@@YanDaOne_QC you need to shut up. You sound miserably jealous that you never met someone from NASA. Bye!!! 🤣

[@greenbeagle13]

Excellent video - thank you.

[@godblessamerica7048]

When I was in the Air Force in the mid-80s I witnessed the Space Shuttle Columbia twice and the Space Shuttle Challenger also twice being transported by the 747. I was at the Davis-Monthan AFB control tower when I watched the shuttle explode on the television. Such terrible disasters.

[@anonymousmom2222]

Very good video, informative7 and personable. Loss of life so tragic, the astronauts were the best of us, all so young, so educated, successful. The “Columbia hills “ discovered on mars, honorably named for Columbia’s crew, they deserve the honor.

[@jerrybeloin4985]

Atleast they didn't suffer like the challenger crew imagine 2.45 seconds knowing you were gonna die at ocean impact evidence says they survived the blast the shuttle only lost the wings and motors

[@augsbourne]

The entire shuttle disintegrated into thousands of pieces, some large, with one of the larger sections being the intact crew cabin, so it wasn’t only the wings and engines; they did probably live till they hit the ocean. What a horrific way to go out.

[@rainer250]

It's sad it took the loss of Columbia for NASA to learn from its mistakes. You'd think the Challenger would be the one to do so but nope, it took two shuttle losses for these changes to happen.

[@khalilminorel747]

And the change was the government chose to never fly shuttle missions again.

[@richardhatfieldgreg3851]

NASA has become a bloated bureaucracy full of layers of politics.

[@josephdupont]

Dear Editor, In 2003 STS-107 and it's crew were lost on re-entry due to damaged tiles. This was not the first time insulation falling off the fuel tank had damaged our shuttle. Whether a rushed rescue mission could have saved the doomed Columbia crew will never be known. But I have a feeling that Linda Ham did not want the public to know how bad the tile damage was . Why? Because life is cheap and the shuttles had squeaked through similar insulations before. Ask Hoot Gibson about his Atlantis flight.

[@JimMac23]

The hole in the aluminum side of the left wing let in tremendous heat which damaged the tiles on the underside of the wing.

[@johnshields6852]

They knew, just because it's happened before and didn't cause damage is irrelevant , I'm no engineer but from viewing the impact, the foam disintegrated and I don't care if it was made out of diamonds, that impact area should've been checked, knowing the leading edge where it hit is subject to the highest temps of the whole shuttle, shrugging your shoulders and saying, it's probably good, that burns me, I didn't know they talked about it and guessed it would be good. Omg. I'm sorry for the souls lost, I was 11 when Armstrong took the step. Those aboard Columbia where and still are hero's, I'll never forget them. 🙏

[@ricksadler797]

Great video thank you 😊

[@walasiewicz]

Outstanding video

[@stookinthemiddle]

1000 years in the future: "where do you live" - "oh to the right of Mc Cool Hill"

[@sjm6963]

I remember reading somewhere that mission control knew what the outcome would be on re entry but decided not to tell the crew. Truly sad.

[@brewtown46614]

I really love your videos.

[@dschroeder4380]

Wow I'm early! Love your videos!

[@beans9974]

Hi, early! Love your comment!

[@camerontatro9447]

When i was a kid we went to florida for vacation. It was january 3rd 2003, and it was my moms birthday and my parents let me pick between seeing nasa or going to disney. I chose nasa. It was an amazing trip and i saw challenger on the launch pad while i was there. Little 9 year old me had no idea i was seeing an amazing piece of history before its final devastating flight. I honestly have thought about that frequently over the last 20 years.

[@kimbo4850]

Why did they shoot the foam at over 500 miles per hour? The acceleration couldnt possibly increased the shuttles speed by that amount during the short fall of the foam

[@LyralioRC]

It's always been kind of weird to me how this event seems to have bypassed my consciousness. I turned 15 on the day it happened. But somehow I never... noticed it? I have a vague memory of a space thing happening around that time, but somehow I never connected that it happened on my birthday until like 15 years after the fact. Not a birthday present I would wish on anyone. Edit: I should clarify that I'm in Portugal. ...Which also accounts for why I didn't connect the disaster with my birthday. Turns out time zones are a thing, so here it was only reported on the next day. And now I feel dumb because that's obvious.

[@PsychoKat90]

Both shuttle disasters are so sad, so much hope and wonder and exploration pinned on those projects, only to end in disaster. Thank you to all the intrepid scientists who gave their lives for the spirit of human curiosity.

[@homersimpsonsfatguyhat9541]

I remember watching the breaking news coverage about this on CNN when I was at work. It was a Saturday morning and we weren't busy, so we were watching tv. Everyone was quiet for the rest of the day.

[@owenchuarbx]

20 years since this happened. May all who am are affected be in peace and the late astronauts rest in peace.

[@movieflicktube]

OV-101 Enterprise was technically the first Space Shuttle, although never used for space travel

[@jogman262]

And Fred Haise LM Pilot from Apollo 13, was first to fly it.

[@ARBBFamily]

"Safety Concerns" are always the very last thing any organization would stop the show for. Even with the "Safety Concern" brought up before the Challenge launch disaster and the talk later of "Safety First" ....it didn't carry over to this. It is so often said "It never happen before" as the proof that it isn't happening now

[@botwitaprice]

Challenger accident was more than deliberate than an accident; it was advised not to launch in that it was close to freezing temp. at time of launch. They launched anyway.

[@danielbishop1863]

Challenger was doomed by the PR around Christa and the Teacher in Space Project. NASA's rush to launch was all about having something to brag about on TV. Had it been just an "ordinary" flight, nobody would have objected to delaying it a few more days.

[@mikehenderson631]

My mom and part of my family was over live in the area where some of the fragments after we fell

[@nicedog1]

Still heart breaking after all these years 😢

[@panzerkeks8530]

Excellent content although very sad. Could you do a video on some of the lesser known accidents like Asiana Airlines Flight 214

[@magooters]

Extra R.I.P. to the guy that got the smallest hill.

[@adotintheshark4848]

It's a shame and seems like an oversight, that the crew members of Columbia did not do a space walk to inspect the wing. NASA is partly to blame. If the damage on the wing had been discovered, perhaps something could have been done. Also, NASA had a very close call with the last Atlantis shuttle flight before this one. That craft had lost so many tiles on re-entry that it came very close to disintegrating too.

[@JimMac23]

At that time the shuttles didn't carry the cables to do a space walk, and the pressure suits that the astronauts wore were not designed for being outside the shuttle in space.

[@cowboy9718]

Incidentally, could you possibly do a video on what we know about the actual flight of MH370, a review of what evidence has been collected, and what the most plausible theories are about what happened and where the plane went down? A specific question which is often asked but hasn’t been answered satisfactorily is whether the passengers are likely to have known what was happening. I think a good comprehensive review would be much appreciated.

[@mike04574]

Lemmino did one

[@timeone2]

My Youngest Son and I witnessed it all right over the top of Mineral Wells Texas, He was working on his bike early in the morning he seen it and we both seen it all after he screamed at me about it, I was going to go to work till this happened and I went to my Brothers house and heard what happened on the radio, We will never forget it, one Hell of a sad sight for sure!

[@JimMac23]

People could actually see it breaking up from the ground. Some people made videos of it.

[@TheAnalyticalObservers]

The shuttle does not perform role reversals to cool it down, it does this to slow it down, as not to overshoot it's landing zone.

[@josephmassaro]

Technically, Enterprise was the first shuttle built. It was used as a test vehicle but never went into space. Columbia was built about a year later.

[@nangephriam1211]

In loving memory of the Columbia Crew. They love their family and they had high hope that on that day they will see their love ones but it never happen. Their spouse and kids experienced tragic news over and over again of their father, mother and uncle and an aunt who died that day till their remains were found and they went to see them for the last time. It was very bad for them for quite a long time and eventually they get better. Their children I believe are doing well and growing up as amazing kids that any parent would want in their own children. I pray that they will all be bless and comforted through and through in Jesus. God bless.

[@JimMac23]

When the shuttle came apart at that high altitude the bodies of the astronauts came apart as well. The only thing found were body parts.

[@Sinerwray]

Thanks!

[@AzimuthAviation]

Hidden in the background noise is a story of military defense radars and satellite 2003B on day 2 of the mission after a reorientation burn and the radar cross section of a RCC t-seal between leading edge panels 7-8.

[@heroknaderi]

I do agree on sending a second shuttle to rescue the crew. or if it were possible to temporaly repair the hole just to allow the shuttle to reanter without explosing.

[@JimMac23]

There wasn't another shuttle ready. And by the time it could be made ready, the crew of Columbia would have run out of oxygen.

[@Tyrannosaurus_Wrexx]

I’ll never forget this day. I live in Texas, so I went out that morning to see it passing by. It’s weird to realize tragedy was occurring miles above my home, meanwhile, we were all down here, just living our lives.

[@AeroBennett855]

Thank you so much And I missed the space shuttle rest in peace to those who were killed on Columbia

[@StephenLuke]

RIP Rick Husband (1957-2003) William C. McCool (1961-2003) Michael P. Anderson (1959-2003) Kalpana Chawla (1962-2003) David M. Brown (1956-2003) Laurel Clark (1961-2003) and Ilan Ramon (1954-2003)