STS-107

Rick Husband

• Birthday: 07/12/1957
• Role: Commander
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 05/27/1999
• Last Flight: 01/16/2003

Rick Douglas Husband (July 12, 1957 – February 1, 2003) (Colonel, USAF) was an American astronaut and fighter pilot. He traveled into space twice: as Pilot of STS-96 and Commander of STS-107. He and the rest of the crew of STS-107 were killed when Columbia disintegrated during reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere.

William C. McCool

• Birthday: 09/23/1961
• Role: Pilot
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 01/16/2003
• Last Flight: 01/16/2003

William Cameron “Willie” McCool was an American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut, who was the pilot of Space Shuttle Columbia mission STS-107. He and the rest of the crew of STS-107 were killed when Columbia disintegrated during re-entry into the atmosphere. He was the youngest male member of the crew. McCool was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

David M. Brown

• Birthday: 04/16/1956
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 01/16/2003
• Last Flight: 01/16/2003

David McDowell Brown was a United States Navy captain and a NASA astronaut. He died on his first spaceflight, when the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-107) disintegrated during orbital reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere. Brown became an astronaut in 1996, but had not served on a space mission prior to the Columbia disaster. Brown was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

Ilan Ramon

• Birthday: 06/20/1954
• Role: Payload Specialist
• Nationality: Israeli
• First Flight: 01/16/2003
• Last Flight: 01/16/2003

Ilan Ramon (born June 20, 1954 – February 1, 2003) was an Israeli fighter pilot and later the first Israeli astronaut for NASA.

Ramon was the space shuttle payload specialist of STS-107, the fatal mission of Columbia, in which he and six other crew members were killed in the re-entry accident. At 48, he was the oldest member of the crew. Ramon is the only foreign recipient of the United States Congressional Space Medal of Honor, which he was awarded posthumously.

Laurel Clark

• Birthday: 03/10/1961
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 01/16/2003
• Last Flight: 01/16/2003

Laurel Blair Salton Clark was an American medical doctor, United States Navy Captain, NASA astronaut and Space Shuttle mission specialist. Clark died along with her six fellow crew members in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. She was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

Kalpana Chawla

• Birthday: 03/17/1962
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 11/19/1997
• Last Flight: 01/16/2003

Kalpana Chawla was an American astronaut and the first female of Indian origin to go to space. She first flew on Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator. In 2003, Chawla was one of the seven crew members who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster when the craft disintegrated during its re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. Chawla was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, and several streets, universities and institutions have been named in her honor.

Michael P. Anderson

• Birthday: 12/28/1959
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 01/23/1998
• Last Flight: 01/16/2003

Michael Phillip Anderson was a United States Air Force officer and NASA astronaut. Anderson and his six fellow crew members were killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster when the craft disintegrated during its re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. Anderson served as the payload commander and lieutenant colonel in charge of science experiments on the Columbia. Anderson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

STS-107

• Type: Human Exploration
• Orbit: Low Earth Orbit
• Launch Cost: $450,000,000

STS-107 was the 113th flight of the Space Shuttle program, and the disastrous final flight of Space Shuttle Columbia. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 16, 2003, and during its 15 days, 22 hours, 20 minutes, 32 seconds in orbit conducted a multitude of international scientific experiments.

Launch Complex 39A

Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Launch Complex 39A has witnessed the launch of 174 rockets, including 173 orbital launch attempts, while Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA, has been the site for 232 rocket launches.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Shuttle

The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS). Five complete Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles were built and flown on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011.

United Space Alliance

United Space Alliance (USA) is a spaceflight operations company. USA is a joint venture which was established in August 1995 as a Limited Liability Company (LLC), equally owned by Boeing and Lockheed Martin.