Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Underside of the space shuttle Columbia as it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere after mission STS-107 on 1 February 2003. Shortly after this image was taken Columbia disintegrated,killing all seven astronauts on board. It was concluded that the break up of the space shuttle was due to a defect on the leading edge of the left wing (lower left). A smudge is seen on this leading edge,and what is thought to be a debris trail is at lower left. The space shuttle was about 65 kilometres up and travelling at 20,000 kilometres per hour when it exploded. Debris was scattered over a wide area of the southern USA,mostly in Texas and Louisiana | |
Licence : | Droits gérés |
Crédit: | Science Photo Library / NASA |
Taille de l’image : | 687 px × 516 px |
Model Release : | Non requis |
Property Release : | Non requis |
Restrictions : | - |