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.
Rendezvous pitch maneuver
The rendezvous pitch maneuver was developed by NASA engineers Steve Walker, Mark Schrock and Jessica LoPresti after the Space Shuttle "Columbia" disaster. "Columbia" had sustained damage to its heat shield due to insulating foam breaking off the external tank and hitting the shield at liftoff. The damage was too great for the heat shield to protect the shuttle from the heat and structural strain of atmospheric reentry, causing it to break apart. For this reason, the integrity of the heat shield had been a critical concern of NASA ever since. The maneuver was first performed by Mission Commander Eileen Collins on STS-114, which was one of Space Shuttle "Discovery"s two "Return To Flight" missions after the "Columbia" STS-107 disaster.