Gut-wrenching moment Columbia astronauts learnt they were about to die

26 February 2024 , 19:30

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The seven astronauts who died on Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003 (Image: Mission Pictures)

NASA's control room knew Space Shuttle Columbia could be in trouble - but the crew onboard had no idea until the last minute.

On February 1, 2003, seven astronauts were preparing to return to Earth following a 16-day mission in space. They had been told that a piece of foam insulation had broken away from the external tank, striking the port wing of the orbiter on take-off, but assured that damage was limited. Those on the ground believed its heat shield would still be intact.

This, however, turned out to be wrong. With the shield compromised, it was unlikely the shuttle would remain intact as it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in certain death for all those onboard. The 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.

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

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. However, the astronauts had been assured they had nothing to worry about, little did they know they had mere minutes to live.

After being given a 10-minute warning for their descent, those aboard the shuttle had no reason to believe they wouldn't soon be receiving a warm welcome home. The doomed teammates 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.

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Footage of these final, heartbreaking moments shows them looking quite relaxed as they looked ahead to the end of their epic journey, at times laughing and smiling companionably with each other. At one point, they even expressed wonder at the 'amazing' pink glow visible outside their cockpit windows.

Their colleagues on the ground could only look on in horror as abnormal readings showed lost temperature readings from sensors on the left wing, and vanished tire pressure readings. Just before 9am EST, Husband spoke with Mission Control for the last time, saying 'Roger' followed by another half-finished word before the transmission was interrupted.

Gut-wrenching moment Columbia astronauts learnt they were about to die

A burnt helmet found on the floor in Texas after the accident in February 2003 (Press Association)

A NASA crew survival report in 2008 found that the astronauts probably survived the initial breakup of the shuttle before realising how desperate their situation was and losing consciousness seconds after the cabin lost pressure. Exposure to high altitude and blunt trauma caused their deaths, the report stated.

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. One crew member was not wearing a pressure suit helmet and three had not put on their spacesuit gloves.

But the report didn't find astronaut error had contributed to the loss of the craft and stated that it was not a survivable event. NASA's Wayne Hale, who went on to become space shuttle program manager, opened up on his blog about the agonising decision the team faced that day.

He wrote: "If it has been damaged it's probably better not to know. I think the crew would rather not know. Don't you think it would be better for them to have a happy successful flight and die unexpectedly during entry than to stay in orbit, knowing that there was nothing to be done, until the air ran out?"

A new three-part documentary The Space Shuttle That Fell to Earth examines the mistakes that were made by NASA which led to the deaths of the crew. The third part of the series airs tonight and can be streamed on iPlayer.