Kennedy Space Center
On February 1, 2003, "Columbia" and her crew of seven were lost during re-entry over Texas during the STS-107 mission (the 113th shuttle flight); a vehicle breakup triggered by damage sustained during launch from Pad 39A on January 16, when a piece of foam insulation from the orbiter's external fuel tank struck the orbiter's left wing. During reentry, the damage created a hole allowing hot gases to melt the wing structure. Like the "Challenger" disaster, the resulting investigation and modifications interrupted shuttle flight operations at KSC for more than two years until the STS-114 launch on July 26, 2005.
HMCS Columbia (DDE 260)
"Columbia" transferred to the east coast and in 1960 and assigned to the Fifth Canadian Escort Squadron. In August, the ship recovered two crew members of a Tracker aircraft that had crashed at sea south of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The aircraft had been training with "Columbia" and sister ship . She was present for Nigeria's Independence ceremonies at Lagos on 1 November. In March 1961, the destroyer escort was among the ships that took part in a combined naval exercise with the United States Navy off Nova Scotia.