|Background Information on the Columbia Space Shuttle Mission STS-107|
STS-107 Mission Summary
STS-107 Flight: January 16-February 1, 2003
Commander Rick D. Husband (second flight),
Pilot William C. McCool (first flight),
Payload Specialist Michael P. Anderson (second flight),
Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla (second flight),
Mission Specialist David M. Brown (first flight),
Mission Specialist Laurel B. Clark (first flight),
Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon, Israel (first flight)
First flight of SPACEHAB Research Double Module; Fast Reaction Experiments Enabling Science, Technology, Applications and Research (FREESTAR); first Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO) mission since STS-90. This 16-day mission was dedicated to research in physical, life, and space sciences, conducted in approximately 80 separate experiments, comprised of hundreds of samples and test points. The seven astronauts worked 24 hours a day, in two alternating shifts.
April 12-14, 1981 (Crew John W. Young and Robert Crippen)
28 flights 1981-2003.
Most recent flight:
STS-109, March 1-12, 2002 Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission
Other notable missions:
STS 1 through 5, 1981-1982 first flight of European Space Agency built Spacelab. STS-50, June 25-July 9, 1992, first extended-duration Space Shuttle mission. STS-93, July 1999 placement in orbit of Chandra X-Ray Observatory.
Past mission anomaly:
STS-83, April 4-8, 1997. Mission was cut short by Shuttle managers due to a problem with fuel cell No. 2, which displayed evidence of internal voltage degradation after the launch.