Editor’s note: A new CNN Original Series, “Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight,” features exclusive interviews and never-before-broadcast video to uncover the events that led to disaster. Go inside the mission and explore the story of the crew and their families in the series that premieres Sunday, April 7 at 9PM ET/PT. The space shuttle Columbia lifted off on its final flight the morning of January 16, 2003, carrying NASA astronauts Michael P. Anderson, David M. Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel B. Clark, Rick D. Husband, William C. “Willie” McCool and Ilan Ramon of the Israeli Space Agency toward clear blue skies and into orbit around Earth. It was the 28th mission to space for Columbia, NASA’s first reusable space shuttle. Over the course of 16 days, the crew carried out many of their 80 planned research experiments in microgravity. But when Columbia reentered Earth’s atmosphere on February 1, 2003, the shuttle broke apart over Texas due to damage created by a foam strike on the shuttle’s left wing after liftoff, and the crew was tragically lost.
In pictures: Space Shuttle Columbia’s final flight
