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.
Columbia County, Washington
Columbia County is one of the most conservative counties in Washington State. It has not been carried by a Democrat for President since Lyndon Johnson's 1964 landslide victory, and the last time it backed a Democrat for Governor was as far back as 1936 when Clarence D. Martin swept every county in the state. Popular, conservative Democratic Senator "Scoop" Jackson did carry the county during four consecutive county sweeps (the last in 1982), but since then it has been powerfully Republican in those contests too.