Columbia was the oldest shuttle to fly in orbit. When it took off on its 28th flight on January 16, 2003 for a 16-day mission to carry out experiments it had been in operation for over 20 years.

Painstaking work by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) later identified the physical cause of the disaster as damage to Columbia's left wing that occurred just 81.9 seconds after launch.

Less than two minutes after Columbia launched on Jan. 16, 2003, a piece of foam broke off from the external tank. The foam chunk hit and damaged a wing, ultimately leading to the disaster.

[Columbia Shuttle Disaster Explained (Infographic)] "In the case of Orion, the suits will instantaneously, and without any action of the crew, inflate and protect from the loss of pressure ...

The disaster led directly to the decision to end the broader NASA space shuttle program, forcing the US space agency to rely on Russia for rides to space — one of myriad ways Columbia altered ...

On Feb. 1, 2003, Columbia was 16 minutes from touching down at the Kennedy Space Center when disaster struck and mission control lost contact with Columbia and her crew.

The ceremony highlighted the crew of Space Shuttle Columbia STS-107 for the 20th anniversary of the mission disaster that killed seven astronauts on Feb. 1, 2003. (Joe Burbank, Orlando Sentinel/TNS) ...

Shuttle Columbia Disaster in Space Feb 6, 2003 12:00 AM EDT ...

The ceremony highlighted the crew of Space Shuttle Columbia STS-107 for the 20th anniversary of the mission disaster that killed seven astronauts on Feb. 1, 2003. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) ...

On February 1st, 2003 at eighteen seconds past 9:00 AM Eastern Standard Time, the Space Shuttle Columbia broke up during atmospheric entry over Texas. Still traveling at approximately Mach 18.3, th… ...