What doomed Columbia astronauts saw and felt as they plunged to tragic deaths

19 February 2024 , 19:45

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The seven astronauts who died on Space Shuttle Columbia (Image: Mission Pictures)

The crew on Space Shuttle Columbia had no idea that damage caused at the launch of the mission had sealed their fate and believed they would soon be reunited with their families and loved ones.

In February 2003, seven astronauts were preparing to return to earth following a 16-day mission in space but they were totally unaware that staff in NASA's control room were keeping a huge secret from them.

Those on the ground had already realised a piece of foam insulation had broken away from the external tank, striking the port wing of the orbiter. It was unlikely Space Shuttle Columbia would remain intact as it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in certain death for all those onboard.

The seven doomed astronauts were commander Rick Husband, pilot Willie McCool, mission specialists Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, David Brown and Ilan Ramon, Israel's first astronaut.

The shuttle was too far away from the International Space Station to seek help and had no robotic arm with which they could carry out repairs. By the time another shuttle could have reached them, it would have been far too late.

Green comet last seen by Neanderthals 50,000 years ago to fly past earth tonight

What doomed Columbia astronauts saw and felt as they plunged to tragic deaths

Space shuttle Columbia and its seven-member crew lifts off on January 16, 2003 (TNS)

After being given a ten-minute warning for their descent, on February 1, those aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia had no reason to believe they wouldn't soon be receiving a warm welcome home.

The doomed teammates began to put on their suits and safety gloves as the shuttle headed back to the US over the Pacific Ocean, preparing for what they believed would be a routine landing. Footage of these final, heartbreaking moments shows them looking relaxed as they looked ahead to the end of their epic journey, at times laughing and smiling with each other. At one point, they even expressed wonder at the 'amazing' pink glow visible outside their cockpit windows.

The shuttle made its approach to the Kennedy Space Centre just before 9am EST. However abnormal readings were visible at Mission Control. Temperature readings from sensors on the left wing were lost, as were tire readings from the left side of the shuttle.

Columbia was called to discuss the readings and seconds before 9am, Husband called back 'Roger' followed by another word that was cut off mid sentence. At this point the astronauts were travelling at 18 times the speed of sound and were 200,700 feet (61,170 meters) above the ground near Dallas, Texas.

Mission Control attempted to contact Columbia but there was no reply from the astronauts.

A NASA crew survival report in 2008 found that the crew probably survived the initial break up of the shuttle but lost consciousness seconds after the cabin lost pressure and they would have died as Columbia disintegrated. Exposure to high altitude and blunt trauma caused their deaths, the report stated.

One of Columbia's crew members was not wearing a pressure suit helmet and three astronauts had not put on their spacesuit gloves, according to the report. But it didn't find astronaut error had contributed to the loss of the craft and stated that it was not a survivable event.

An object found in Texas after the accident (Press Association)

Debris rained down over eastern Texas and western Louisiana, in nightmarish scenes for those looking to the skies from below. Following an extensive search, the bodies of all seven astronauts were recovered.

A new three-part BBC2 documentary The Space Shuttle That Fell to Earth examines the mistakes that were made by NASA that led to the deaths of the crew.

The second part airs tonight on BBC2 at 9pm and the series can be streamed on iPlayer.