Columbia Space Shuttle Disaster: From First Liftoff to Tragic Final Flight

Details the first flight of the space shuttle Columbia, as well as its tragic final flight.

A huge crowd gathered at Cape Canaveral, Florida, to watch as space shuttle Columbia set off on its first mission in 1981. The countdown was on. All at once there was a loud roar and billowing smoke. "We have liftoff! ... Liftoff of America's first space shuttle!" For more than two decades, Columbia helped us to explore the mysteries of space. On February 1, 2003, Columbia and its crew were approaching a landing to complete the shuttle's twenty-eighth mission. Tragically, the shuttle burned up in the sky over Texas. The entire crew was lost. Learn about the final flight of the shuttle, its catastrophic break-up, and the on-going search for answers.