All seven crew members perished when Columbia broke apart during reentry, doomed

Featured Event 2003 Event

Columbia Breaks Apart: Seven Astronauts Die in Reentry

All seven crew members perished when Columbia broke apart during reentry, doomed by a foam strike that punctured the orbiter's thermal shield sixteen days earlier. The disaster grounded the shuttle fleet for over two years and forced NASA to overhaul its safety culture, ultimately accelerating the program's retirement in 2011.

Talk About This Event

February 1, 2003

23 years ago

What Else Happened on February 1

481 Event

King Huneric forced Catholic and Arian bishops into a tense theological debate in Carthage to consolidate Vandal control over North Africa. By attempting to coe…

1327 Event

Edward III was crowned at fourteen. His mother Isabella and her lover Mortimer ran everything. They'd murdered Edward's father by shoving a red-hot poker throug…

1329 Event

King John of Bohemia was blind. He'd lost his sight in battle years earlier but still led armies across Europe. In 1329, he took Medvėgalis, a Lithuanian fortre…

1411 Event

The Teutonic Knights and the Polish-Lithuanian alliance signed the First Peace of Thorn, formally ending the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. By forcing the Knig…

1662 Event

General Koxinga forced the surrender of the Dutch East India Company at Fort Zeelandia, ending 38 years of colonial rule on Taiwan. By securing the island as a …

1713 Event

Charles XII of Sweden refused to leave Ottoman territory for five years after losing at Poltava. The sultan got tired of paying for his 1,000-man entourage and …

View all events on February 1 →

Talk to History

Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.

Start Talking

← Back to February 1

Columbia Breaks Apart: Seven Astronauts Die in Reentry

Key Figures & Places

What Else Happened on February 1

Talk to History