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The space shuttle Columbia disaster
Just 16 minutes before its scheduled landing February 1, the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated 40 miles above Earth, killing its crew of seven astronauts. Debris from the shuttle was scattered over thousands of square miles of Texas and Louisiana. NASA is investigating the disaster, and an independent probe is being led by retired U.S. Navy Adm. Harold Gehman, who headed the inquiry into the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen. The seven astronauts killed were commander Rick Husband; pilot William McCool; payload commander Michael Anderson; mission specialists David Brown, Laurel Clark and Kalpana Chawla; and Israel's first astronaut, Ilan Ramon. The Columbia disaster came one week after the 17th anniversary of the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger, which disintegrated 73 seconds after liftoff from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on January 28, 1986. Space shuttle flights have been put on hold until NASA determines what caused the Columbia to break apart, but President Bush said Saturday that the U.S. space program will continue. The moratorium on shuttle flights affects the three-man crew of the international space station, which was due to return to Earth on March 1 aboard the shuttle Atlantis. NASA said the space station's crew has enough supplies to last through the end of June. In its final minutes, the shuttle experienced an unusually high temperature increase on its left side, lost a series of sensors on the left wing and then rolled unexpectedly to the left, according to a NASA data analysis. Data also showed the temperature of the shuttle rose 60 degrees in five minutes on the left side of the fuselage, four times faster than on the right. The left wheel well experienced a temperature spike also. In addition, NASA is taking another look at an incident from Columbia's January 16 launch in which a piece of debris -- possibly foam insulation -- fell off the external fuel tank and struck the shuttle on the left side 80 seconds after liftoff. Officials said they want to know whether the debris knocked off or damaged any of the heat-resistant tiles that protect the shuttle from almost 3,000-degree Fahrenheit temperatures as it enters Earth's upper atmosphere. Human remains discovered amid the debris from Columbia have been taken to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana for analysis. The independent panel investigating the disaster met for the first time Monday, and NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe briefed President Bush on the investigation. What caused the shuttle to break apart? Did the piece of debris that fell off during launch have anything to do with the disaster? How long will the moratorium on shuttle flights last? When and how will the crew aboard the international space station return to Earth? Ron Dittemore: NASA's shuttle program manager Sean O'Keefe: NASA administrator Harold Gehman: Retired U.S. Navy admiral appointed to lead an independent probe of the Columbia disaster. Gehman headed up the investigation into the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen.
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