National News

A look back at the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster 10 years later

Credit: Getty Images

UNDATED FILE PHOTO: The crew of Space Shuttle Columbia's mission STS-107 pose for the traditional crew portrait. Seated in front are astronauts Rick D. Husband (L), mission commander; Kalpana Chawla, mission specialist; and William C. McCool, pilot. Standing are (L to R) astronauts David M. Brown, Laurel B. Clark, and Michael P. Anderson, all mission specialists; and Ilan Ramon, payload specialist representing the Israeli Space Agency. Columbia broke up upon re-entry to earth February 1, 2003. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board investigators say that a culture of low funding, strict scheduling and an eroded safety program at NASA doomed the flight of the space shuttle. (Photo by NASA/Getty Images)