On February 1, 2003 the space shuttle Columbia and her seven astronauts began their return to earth after a successful 16-day science mission. Family and friends joyously awaited their arrival at Kennedy Space center, but the shuttle never appeared. Soon, news stations began running shuttle-watcher home video of the shuttle breaking apart in a blaze of light above Texas and Louisiana. NASA officials couldn't believe it: seven more amazing crew members and one shuttle lost almost exactly seventeen years after the Challenger. What could have gone wrong? The investigation would soon show a totally different direct cause, but sadly similar indirect causes to Challenger's demise.

Here are the resources I used to research this episode:

Comm Check: The Final Flight of Shuttle Columbia by Michael Cabbage and William Harwood

Bringing Columbia Home by Michael Leinbach and Jonathan H. Ward

https://www.space.com/19436-columbia-disaster.html#section-searching-for-columbia-debris

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Columbia_disaster

Documentary: NOVA Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster

Documentary: Witness to History - The Loss of Shuttle Columbia

Documentary: Space Shuttle Columbia: Falling Star

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