From the archives: Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on Feb. 1, 2003 (Video)

Wednesday marks 20 years since NASAs Space Shuttle Columbia disaster that killed seven astronauts on board. On Feb. 1, 2003, the space shuttle was expected to land at 9:16 a.m. ET, but mission control in Houston lost contact with Columbia at around 9 a.m. ET. Shortly thereafter, debris was reported in the skies above Texas. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board later found the likely source of the accident was damage to the left wing caused by the left bipod foam ramp that broke off during takeoff. This damaged the protective tiles on the spacecraft and allowed hot gases to penetrate and melt major structural elements of the wing upon re-entry. Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark, and Ilan Ramon died in the tragedy. CBS anchor Russ Mitchell reported on the breaking story from the studio, joined by CBS News space consultant Bill Harwood at Kennedy Space Center. #archives #nasa #columbia CBS News Streaming Network is the premier 24/7 anchored streaming news service from CBS News and Stations, available free to everyone with access to the Internet. The CBS News Streaming Network is your destination for breaking news, live events and original reporting locally, nationally and around the globe. Launched in November 2014 as CBSN, the CBS News Streaming Network is available live in 91 countries and on 30 digital platforms and apps, as well as on CBSNews.com and Paramount+. Subscribe to the CBS News YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/cbsnews Watch CBS News: http://cbsn.ws/1PlLpZ7c Download the CBS News app: http://cbsn.ws/1Xb1WC8 Follow CBS News on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cbsnews/ Like CBS News on Facebook: http://facebook.com/cbsnews Follow CBS News on Twitter: http://twitter.com/cbsnews Subscribe to our newsletters: http://cbsn.ws/1RqHw7T Try Paramount+ free: https://bit.ly/2OiW1kZ For video licensing inquiries, contact: licensing@veritone.com