On Feb. 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia was lost during its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. Columbia, the oldest orbiter in the Shuttle fleet, is names after the Boston, Massachusetts based sloop captained by American Robert Gray. The spaceship Columbia has continued the pioneering legacy of its forebears, became the first Space Shuttle to fly into Earth orbit in 1981.
Columbia was the first on-line orbiter to undergo the scheduled inspection and retrofit program. It was transported Aug. 10, 1991, after its completion of mission STS-40. The oldest orbiter in the fleet underwent approximately 50 modifications, including the addition of carbon brakes, drag chute, improved nose wheel steering, removal of development flight instrumenta
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