Columbia Space Shuttle

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Millie Hughes-Fulford Circled the Earth 146 Times

Researcher spent 9 days in orbit on the Columbia

(Newser) - Millie Hughes-Fulford, a trailblazing astronaut and scientist who became the first female payload specialist to fly in space for NASA, died last week after a yearslong battle with cancer, her family said. She was 75. Hughes-Fulford was selected by NASA for its astronaut program in 1983 and in June 1991...

Challenger Wreckage Hidden From View Is Finally Shown

NASA puts debris and astronauts' personal artifacts on display

(Newser) - The remnants of two tragic space shuttle disasters are finally seeing the light of day. Hidden away for decades, Columbia and Challenger debris is on display at a new NASA exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., the AP reports. Among the remnants are a large body...

Boots, Beads: NASA Honors Its Fallen Astronauts

Exhibit offers touching tribute to those on board Challenger, Columbia

(Newser) - The 14 display cases at Kennedy Space Center contain intensely personal mementoes and items representing the astronauts who perished in the Challenger and Columbia accidents. They are part of NASA's new "Forever Remembered" exhibit, which includes the first public display of pieces from each lost space shuttle. NASA'...

Piece of Shuttle Columbia Found in Texas Lake

Drought lowered lake level to reveal part of destroyed ship

(Newser) - A piece of the space shuttle Columbia has been discovered in an east Texas lake, report CNN and Space.com . The shuttle broke up when re-entering the atmosphere in 2003, killing its seven-person crew. The newly-discovered part is a tank 4 feet in diameter that contributed power and water to...

Columbia Crew Had No Chance to Survive

Report says astronauts couldn't have survived shuttle's disintegration

(Newser) - The seven astronauts aboard the space shuttle Columbia lost consciousness quickly and did not suffer when the craft broke up during its descent to Earth in 2003, a  NASA report says. While the crew had zero chance of survival, the report found fault with the astronauts' safety equipment and recommended...

Diary That Survived Shuttle Blast Goes on Display

Pages written by Israel's first astronaut survived 37-mile fall from space

(Newser) - Pages from the diary of an Israeli astronaut who perished with the space shuttle Columbia  go on display tomorrow at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, the AP reports. Ilan Ramon's diary was found in a field 2 months after the crash. It had fallen 37 miles to earth when the...

Discovery's New Fuel Tank Passes With Flying Colors

First test of redesign after 2003 disaster

(Newser) - The Discovery shuttle launch Saturday marked the first use of a new fuel tank designed after flaws led to the 2003 Columbia disaster, Space.com reports, and tests yesterday showed the new design to be successful. The external tank, designed to minimize the release of falling debris  during launch, shed...

Old Columbia Test Sheds Light on Ketchup

Recovered shuttle experiment reveals nature of viscosity

(Newser) - A hard drive recovered from the Columbia shuttle disaster confirms an old theory about why people shake ketchup before pouring it, LiveScience reports. Astronauts on the craft were conducting a zero-gravity experiment with xenon, a gas, to study viscosity, but scientists feared the results were lost after Columbia burned up...

Endeavour Crew Finishes Final Walk
 Endeavour Crew 
 Finishes Final Walk 
UPDATED
Mar 22, 2008 6:49 PM CDT

Endeavour Crew Finishes Final Walk

Astronauts set up inspection boom for next mission

(Newser) - A pair of Endeavour astronauts completed the last spacewalk of their historic assembly mission tonight, the Houston Chronicle reports. Over 6 hours, Mike Forman and Bob Behnken set up an inspection boom outside the International Space Station to help future shuttles avoid disasters like the 2003 Columbia tragedy. The boom...

Spacewalking Astronauts Test Repair Goo

'Caulk-like' stuff could avert disaster

(Newser) - Spacewalking astronauts successfully tested a high-tech goo that can be used to repair heat shields and help avert a repeat of the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster, the Houston Chronicle reports. In work reminiscent of a “tile-and-grout” job, astronauts sprayed the pink caulk onto shuttle sections that were purposely damaged....

Space Shuttle Heads for Earth
Space Shuttle Heads for Earth
Feb 18, 2008 7:58 AM CST

Space Shuttle Heads for Earth

Atlantis returns as March 11 flight rolls onto launch pad

(Newser) - The space shuttle Atlantis parted ways with the International Space Station this morning and headed back towards the confines of Earth, even as NASA was rolling another shuttle onto the launch pad, preparing for its March 11th mission. In its 9-day stay, Atlantis attached Europe’s first permanent laboratory to...

Atlantis Docks With Space Station
Atlantis
Docks With Space Station
UPDATED
Feb 9, 2008 11:43 AM CST

Atlantis Docks With Space Station

Shuttle's crew is delivering $2B European laboratory

(Newser) - Space shuttle Atlantis docked flawlessly with the international space station today, the AP reports. Atlantis is delivering a $2 billion lab eagerly awaited by European scientists. Before docking, the shuttle performed a giant backflip so station crew members could take images of the shuttle's thermal shield. NASA engineers will examine...

Discovery to Fly Over US
Discovery to Fly Over US
Nov 6, 2007 1:35 PM CST

Discovery to Fly Over US

Columbia disaster sparked changes in NASA procedures

(Newser) - The space shuttle Discovery will fly across the US tomorrow before landing in Cape Canaveral, a feat NASA hasn’t attempted since the doomed shuttle Columbia rained debris over the country in 2003. New safety procedures have minimized the risk of another disaster, ABC News reports. People below may see...

Launch Tomorrow a Go: NASA
Launch Tomorrow a Go: NASA
Oct 22, 2007 10:00 AM CDT

Launch Tomorrow a Go: NASA

Safety board concerns are an 'acceptable risk'

(Newser) - With one eye on potentially disastrous weather, NASA is preparing to launch its most ambitious space mission ever tomorrow, reports the Orlando Sentinel. The launch is a go despite an independent safety board's recommendation to delay because of hairline cracks in Discovery's wing panels. NASA says the cracks lie within...

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