when did columbia explode

The Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart during reentry on February 1, 2003.

Quick Scoop: What Happened?

On February 1, 2003, NASA’s Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated in the sky over Texas as it reentered Earth’s atmosphere near the end of mission STS‑107.

All seven astronauts on board were killed about 16 minutes before the shuttle was scheduled to land.

Key Details at a Glance

• Date of disaster: February 1, 2003.

• Location: Breakup occurred high over Texas and parts of Louisiana during reentry.

• Time: Around 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time during descent.

• Mission: STS‑107, Columbia’s 28th flight, focused on scientific experiments in microgravity.

• Crew: Seven astronauts, including the first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon.

Why Did Columbia Explode?

Investigations later confirmed that a piece of insulating foam broke off the shuttle’s external fuel tank shortly after launch and struck the left wing.

This impact created a breach in the thermal protection system, allowing superheated gases to enter the wing during reentry and ultimately causing the orbiter to break apart.

In simple terms: damage at launch led to catastrophic failure on the way home.

Longer-Term Impact

The disaster led to an immediate grounding of the Space Shuttle fleet and a major investigation into both technical causes and NASA’s internal decision- making culture.

It also reshaped U.S. human spaceflight plans and contributed to the final retirement of the shuttle program later in the 2000s.

TL;DR: Columbia “exploded” (broke apart) on February 1, 2003 , during reentry, due to wing damage from foam that struck the shuttle shortly after launch.

Would you like a brief timeline of the launch, damage, and final minutes of the mission, or are you mainly interested in the date for a quick reference?