Space Shuttle Columbia

The Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102) was a spacecraft used by NASA to fly into outer space. It was the first Space Shuttle to fly into space, on April 12, 1981. It broke apart while re-entering the Earth's atmosphere on February 1, 2003, killing all seven people who were on it at the time. The shuttle flew a total of 28 missions. The Columbia was named after a US Navy ship that circumnavigated the world in 1836.^[1] It was also the name of the Apollo 11 Lunar Excursion Module.

1. ↑ "Space Today Online - Space Shuttle Stories". spacetoday.org. Retrieved November 19, 2010.