way that i look at the world is different i know things now that i don't want to know, why do i need to know about these pure evil there is in my world that i live given how can i raise my kids, how can i have kids knowing that there are people this evil that this might happen to them

-oh, is that it? -there it is! -that's it right there. there it is. -yeah, i see it. i saw it. -there it is. oh, it's cool. -yeah. that is cool. oh, check that out, man. -it's going really fast. -whoa. -what the heck is that? -i don't know. -wow. -look at the chunks coming off of it! -yeah, i saw that. -yeah. i see what you're saying. that thing looks like it's flipping all over the place. -oh, yeah. -i can still see it, but i'm losing it. -it was a saturday morning. it was a beautiful day. and as i turned onto park street,

i heard a loud boom. [ rumbling ] -our house just shook. we looked at each other, and we said, "what is that?" -when i looked up, i saw a bright white ball. [ sirens wailing ] -the phones were ringing off the hook, much more than our dispatch staff could handle. -i didn't know if we were being attacked. -search and rescue teams are warning people not to touch any debris, should they come across it. -there are some disturbing pictures that are coming up from the broadcasters. -we're waiting for more details as to how this happened, maybe the beginnings of why it happened. ♪

-nasa has declared a state of emergency over texas. -there is something amiss. we are watching mission control. nasa has gone through this before, 17 years ago with space shuttle challenger. you can see in their eyes. -if you work in human space flight, this is the worst possible thing that could ever happen. -lean in. bunch up. arms. bunch up. bunch up. -whole nine yards. -lean in there, ilan. alright. -yeah. -here we go. [ camera shutter clicks ] alright. very good. [ camera shutter clicking ] -i was an astronaut crew secretary. -grinning, grinning, grinning. smiles. alright. [ laughter ] -i would see the crew daily. -perfect.

-let me take my glasses off. -that'll be in here. [ laughter ] i'm not a star-struck kind of person, right? but you fly 12,500 miles an hour? i was like, "yeah! i like you." [ laughs ] -whoo-hoo, baby! [ laughter ] -when they got selected as a crew, i went and got their astronaut bio and i read what they did, what they liked. [ laughter ] i went over and i'm like, "ah, doctor. ah. "dr. dave brown, surgeon. dr. kalpana chawla, phd." laurel -- laurel was a submarine doctor. i thought that was so cool. mike -- he's air force pilot. and then willie -- he was like a test pilot. rick -- he'd already been up to space. and then there was ilan. you know, he was already a hero in his country. so i was like, "wow! we have the juice here!

this will work." ♪ and they came together to start training. -welcome aboard. -four of us are flying for the first time. roll camera. and that could be seen as a disadvantage. in some ways, it's an incredible advantage because we have a wealth of enthusiasm and excitement that other, more seasoned crews may not have. -i was married to laurel clark, who was on the columbia mission. we met in navy dive school. she beat us in swimming -- the guys -- and that was kind of irritating. she was just tenacious. she always had a smile on her face no matter what happened. it was really beautiful. [ both laugh ] -i feel very fortunate to be assigned to this mission. i'm expecting it to be the experience of my lifetime so far. ready, ready, mark. -we were so excited.

♪ -i remember going into nasa taking a series of photos with my mom and dad after school. i was 7. i was worried. i was, like thinking, like, "how is her hair gonna fit in there?" [ chuckles ] she made everything joyful all the time. she was my whole world. -i remember the columbia mission being announced. i mean, i knew them all. in my class was laurel clark, dave brown, and willie mccool. we were all there at the same time. you get your blue flight suit. that's pretty exciting. i mean, "yes!" i've spent 54 days in space over four missions. most fun thing i've ever done by far. there's a lot of risk involved. i really believe that humans are explorers.

and in this country, we're really good at this stuff. i mean, think about this for a second. we sent people to the moon in the 1960s. think about how hard that was. ♪ americans like that we're a country that does hard things. [ applause ] and nasa does some hard stuff. -they got the flag up now. -it's about what it means for us as a nation to lead in space. you know, we have a record of success. ♪ -colombia will open a new chapter in american space travel. -this is a once-in-a-lifetime happening, the maiden voyage of the space shuttle.

-i had an emotional feeling with columbia because she was the number one. she was paving the way to the utilization of space in a more practical way, cheaper, better. ♪ previously, rockets were expendable, one-time use, but the space shuttle was reusable in its design up to 100 times. it was a quantum leap forward in space travel. -t minus 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4... we have main engine start. ♪ ♪ -and it's up and away. go. go, columbia, go. [ all cheering ] -people had seen apollo launches exploring the moon.

the space shuttle reignited that interest. it was the pride of the united states. -columbia, houston. -i still think it's one of the most complex machines ever built by the human race. ♪ in the beginning, there were four operating shuttles -- columbia, challenger, atlantis, and discovery. one of the goals was to fly 20 missions a year. sometimes they were sending satellites, quite a few classified missions for the department of defense. eventually they were used for assembling and building the international space station. but reusability puts demands on the design that it has to be robust and resilient and come back intact and fully operational. it's a huge demand. and there were numerous problems.

-the mission aboard the orbiter columbia is a 24/7 science marathon. in all, there are more than 59 experiments. ♪

-my husband rick was the commander of the space shuttle columbia. -howdy! [ laughter ] -never in my wildest dreams did i think i'd ever meet an astronaut, much less marry one. and so he told me. he said that he wanted -- since he was 4 years old that he wanted to be an astronaut. -my name is rick husband. i'm the commander of sts-107. we're going to be flying a 16-day science mission. -i was, i think, probably 10 or 11. i knew it was a big, in-charge position and that he would be the leader of the team. you think of something like buzz lightyear, star command. you're like, "wow, dad's the commander of a shuttle." [ laughs ] -okay, let's do like this, you know? -yeah. -while they were in training, dave brown, one of the astronauts, came to rick and asked if it was okay if he recorded footage of the crew throughout the mission.

-we're trying to ignore our best pal, dave, who's busy documenting our journey toward space. -dr. dave! -yeah. -man, this is above and beyond. -i know. 6:30. -yeah. -dave, your camera is affecting me. -it is? -[ laughing ] yeah. -kalpana was definitely one of her kind. and what everybody knows about her is the first female astronaut from india. she was intelligent. she was hardworking. she was unstoppable. ♪ -rolling. -take 3, dave and laurel. -action! we're here in the wind river mountains with the crew of sts-107. -brought to you by the national outdoor leadership school. -well, laurel, are you ready? -dave, my palms are sweaty. my knees are weak. i'm ready for an outdoor adventure. [ all cheering ] ♪

-the crew went on an outdoor team-building trip in wyoming. -now, willie's not safe until we're all safe, right? -it was, i think, close to two weeks long. -and it comes around... -right down in this valley. -my dad had come up with the idea to help them bond, and dave filmed the crew while they were doing that. [ laughter ] -this is such a nightmare. i'm trying to make these stupid brownies because everybody wanted brownies for breakfast. -you're not hungry? -i'm not that hungry. -no? -but i would love to have some breakfast brownies. that would be delicious. -well, there's some right here. -[ laughs ] wow! looks kind of like bear scat. -[ laughs ] -well, you know... -on the trip in wyoming, they had to work together as a team. -mnh! [ laughter ] -when you're on the space shuttle, you really have to have a high level of what they call behavioral health...

-and what do you think, willie? -mm-mmm! -...where you're not just technically competent, but you're low-maintenance... ...'cause you are inherently in a confined space. you can't say, "i'm just gonna take a time out and go outside and not deal with your, you know, b.s. anymore." ♪ so, nasa had started to realize, "we got to get a handle on this, and it's really important." ♪ [ all cheering, whooping ] -when they came back, it was like their bond was forever. they walked in sync with each other. it was like left, right, left, right.

they were the columbia crew. they were sts-107. they were a unit. -one, two, three. -one, two, three. -excellent. -whoo-hoo. ♪ -michael anderson was my husband. we got to go watch the underwater trainings to simulate zero gravity. he was excited, but if you looked at him, you would think calm and collected, but he was excited. he would tease the kids we were gonna go to mars as a family. halfway, he was joking, but halfway, he was thinking, "hmm, this would be kind of cool." -check o2 actuator is in eva. -he loved it. it was his dream. but he thought about it. i mean, he thought about the safety issues, and he knew he was in a dangerous career field. -i'm probably different than most astronauts.

i really don't enjoy launches, you know? i think a launch is a terrible way to get to space. when you launch in a rocket, you're not really flying that rocket. you're just sort of hanging on. even though we've gone to great pains to to make it as safe as we can, there's always the potential for something going wrong. you know, so we try not to think about those things. we train and try to prepare for the things that may go wrong. but there's always that unknown. and i guess it's that unknown that i don't like. -i went with michael to florida for the first time and actually saw the shuttle. and when i saw it, i was like, "you really want to get up in this? you really, really, really want to do this?" [laughs] i remember saying to him because somehow it didn't look as glamorous as it did on television. i was like, "wow, that's, "you know, the oldest one in the fleet. mnh, i don't know about this." it looked smaller to me, you know?

it looked a little older. i was like, "okay, this is getting really real." and then i remember thinking about what happened to challenger. [ cheers and applause ] -space shuttle challenger is just a few seconds away from blasting off from the kennedy space center near cape canaveral, florida. -t-minus 15 seconds. t-minus 10, 9, 8... 7, 6... -6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ -liftoff confirmed. -liftoff. -engines throttling up, three engines now at 104%. -challenger go at throttle up. -challenger go at throttle up. ♪ [ all gasping, screaming ]

business. it's not a nine-to-five proposition. it's all day and into the night. it's all the things that keep this world turning.

the go-tos that keep us going. the places we cheer. and check in. they all choose the advanced network solutions and round the clock partnership from comcast business. see why comcast business powers more small businesses than anyone else. get started for $49.99 a month plus ask how to get up to an $800 prepaid card. don't wait- call today. -vehicle has exploded. -i hear from launch control he vehicle has exploded. that's the orbiter itself. the shuttle challenger has exploded. we must assume that the crew is not alive.

this is unheralded in the history of the space program. ladies and gentlemen, i have covered space shuttle launches since the very first launch, since before the first launch itself, going way back, and nothing like this has ever happened. [ woman screams ] -it was a sad day for all americans. ♪ this was our space program. this was our national space program. and here they lost their lives doing it for our country. ♪ -when i thought about challenger, i talked to michael. i said, "you know what? "you're doing what you're doing, "and i'm glad you're loving it and liking it, "but you got a wife and two little kids here if something happens." ♪ -we prayed a lot about it. he talked to us about his faith, and he was like, "hey, god has got me. "like, if something happens, like, "god is gonna take care of me,

"he's gonna take care of, you know, "you guys as a family. "you'll be okay. there are risks to this. "like, i chose a profession that, you know, is dangerous sometimes." he was like, "but we don't want to be fearful about it." -how do you stop somebody from doing something that they've worked so hard to do and achieved and was so dedicated and committed to? i wouldn't have stopped him. ♪ -i was working at nasa then. i had done this threat assessment. any commercial airliner, your chances of a bad outcome are one in a million, probably closer to one in ten million. scuba diving and flying in general aviation, military flying is 1 in 100,000. the shuttle was 1 in 100. your chances of a bad outcome are 1 in 100. you know, if somebody told me, "hey, you can go on this roller coaster ride, and there's 1 in 100 chance that you'll die,"

well, there's no chance in the world, no chance in hell i would do that. flying on the space shuttle? the benefit we get for our country is enormous. ♪ you know, i think a lot of us feel that this is a tremendous amount of risk and, you know, there will be, you know, accidents and people will lose their lives, but i also think that people generally think it's not gonna be them. ♪ -nasa has grounded its four shuttles until at least september because of small cracks that have been found in the fuel lines. the concern is the cracks could grow and splinter into hazardous chunks of metal. ♪ -they got a bunch of us, like a dozen engineers,

to go fly down to kennedy space center to go look at cracks. there was copious amounts of engineering discussion and testing going on. -stop. thank you. -if a main engine were to explode, that would destroy the vehicle, it'd be out of control, we'd lose the vehicle and the crew. it's too dangerous to fly any shuttle until we get a handle on this. it grounded the entire fleet, including columbia. -it was, like, delayed and delayed and delayed. [ breathes deeply ] you're kind of glad that they're dealing with whatever the issue is, and you're hoping that everything's okay. and, you know, it makes it a little bit more nerve-wracking. ♪ -nasa management and engineering came up with solutions. once these propulsion cracks were fixed and repaired, we can resume flight. but i had oversight into all the missions, and there were numerous problems. well, the other shuttle fleet --

they were just one after another. it just wouldn't end, the damages and things that were out of whack. the tiles were being damaged every flight. one time, a large piece of foam from the gigantic fuel tank dented the solid rocket boosters on liftoff. another time, a vulture hit the tank. ♪ if it hit the windows, catastrophe. this is a complex vehicle that always needs a lot of caretaking. ♪ ♪ -every single mission that i was there for was scrubbed, rescheduled, delayed because something wasn't exactly right. what did catch my attention, in terms of trouble,

from the very first time i saw them up close was this was 1970s technology. this was a lot of moving parts, a lot of mechanical, moving parts. and anytime you have that happen, it's challenging to keep it flying. ♪ these weren't ancient by any means, but they were getting up there.

it may not sound like it, but this... is actually progress at 225 miles per hour.

shell renewable race fuel. reducing emissions by 60% in all ntt indycar® series races. ♪♪ we're moving forward with indycar. because we're moving forward with everybody. ♪♪ shell. powering progress. it may not sound like it, but this... is actually progress at 225 miles per hour. shell renewable race fuel. reducing emissions by 60% in all ntt indycar® series races. ♪♪ we're moving forward with indycar. because we're moving forward with everybody. ♪♪ shell. powering progress.

-we don't have too much time 'cause launch is coming. shell. 36 or 37 days to launch, and it's starting to get exciting. -why is it exciting? -what do you mean, why is it exciting? we're going to space. well, for the first time, at least, for us. for me, it's exciting. -this was an amazing, amazing opportunity. there were a lot of israeli fighter pilots that could have been chosen to take this role. but it was my father that was chosen to be the first israeli astronaut. ♪ -i'm just really looking forward to being able to spend that much time up in space. ♪ but i tell my son all the time that my most important job is being his mother.

♪ motherhood's been incredible. -i relied on my mom for so much. so much. ♪ -three weeks from the launch, we were flying from houston to albuquerque for christmas, iain and laurel and i. -it was my dad flying the plane and me and our dog in the back seat. -and we start hitting some of this turbulence, and all of a sudden the plane gets into this, like, downwash. it's going down like this. well, i mean, we just crashed. it was just, you know, bam, slapped down. and the fact that we survived is, to this day, something i cannot explain. ♪ i think it messed iain up because the closer we got to the flight itself, he kept saying, "i don't want you to leave, mom. i want you to stay here on earth."

basically, he said, "i don't want you to go." -i, uh, begged her pretty desperately not to go. i was... i was very emotional, and i was crying to stop -- try to stop her from leaving. -these guys have trained, you know, forever for this mission, and the last thing they want is for them to catch something and be sick. that just would be catastrophic for the mission. so they put them in quarantine a week prior. the children weren't allowed to be around them. -i had to say goodbye to him before he went to quarantine. and i remember hugging his waist 'cause that's where i came to him when i was 12.

that moment, actually, right here in the kitchen, um, i remember crying and just knowing how much i would miss him. ♪ -i remember we drove him to quarantine and we all said goodbye and, like, had hugs and kisses and it was a really sweet moment. and it was just us, and that was it. he was off. -[ chuckles ] -this is gonna be good. -ilan just walks into the kitchen, starts looking in cupboards, starts grabbing stuff, and it just miraculously happened. he transformed it. -cheers! -we're almost there. -the last time iain saw his mom was in houston, in the crew quarters at jsc. and actually they're supposed to not see their kids for seven days. and we snuck him into crew quarters, unbeknownst to anybody else, for him to get a hug from his mom.

-she was just reassuring me that it was gonna be okay and, "i'll miss you, too, but, you know, i'll be back." -it was a very long hug, you know? oh, maybe -- i don't know if they knew it was the last one or not. who could deprive a child of that from his mom? ♪ [ cheers and applause ] ♪ -absolutely thrilled to be here, thrilled to go do a lot of work, see some incredible things, and spend some more time with this great group of people i'm with today. [ applause ] -i left washington to head down to florida to witness the launch. had an opportunity to visit with the crew.

the launch of columbia had occurred a year and a half after 9/11. at that time, i was in briefings to identify, "what are the high-value targets? "what are the things that would be an attraction for terrorists to just get the attention of the american people?" one of them was the shuttle. ♪ -the post 9/11 regiment remains in place, a huge no-fly zone around the launch pad patrolled by fighters, enhanced radars, surface-to-air missiles, and the launch time kept secret until the day before. ♪ -there were gunboats out there. there is, uh, you know, frogmen in the water. -they had snipers on the roof of the hotel, as well as mounted police all up and down the beach. -you could easily hide a sniper in a swamp out there

with a high-powered rifle, and a couple of hits in the wrong spot on the shuttle, and bad day.

-this is shuttle launch control, everything is going well and as planned, with the countdown for the launch of columbia scheduled for 10:39 a.m., eastern time, sts-107. ♪ -the first one. the second one comes easy. -ooh, good morning. [ indistinct conversations ] -how are we doing? -alright. so, we all ready this morning? -i think we are. [ chuckles ] how about you? are you ready? -oh, i'm ready. i'm ready. i got the easy part. ♪ -shalom. -ready for the big day? [ chuckles ] ♪ -plugs. tethers. -hey, dave. -dreaming of sleeping in space. -in 2003, i was responsible for all the astronauts. [ laughter ] -but he's gonna lose. -i was here supporting. i was an astronaut myself.

-you're out. -every time you get suited up, there is anticipation. i don't know. anxiety, excitement. yeah, launch day is pretty special. ♪ [ indistinct speaking ] -okay. -alright. here we go. [ hands tapping rhythmically ] [ laughs ] -every launch, we do this really strange thing where we play this card game, this poker game, because it's been done since neil armstrong. -you win. you win. no, that's good. it's good. it's good to win. -i get to go to space. -one step closer to launch here. -everything is timed very specifically. and they actually have a, you know -- it was an old analog clock with a marker on it. then you just got to wait. you want to go. -you know the risk, and you know what you're getting ready to do. you know, if you don't,

you probably shouldn't be in that business. -rick husband got the whole crew together inside the suit room before they went out the door into the hallway. and they all got together, arms around each other, head bowed, and said a prayer. -amen. -amen. -amen. -christian, hindu, jew, all together as one... [ cheers and applause ] ...as they walked out of the suit room. ♪ -and our astronauts are coming out now, as they are making their way to the astronaut van. [ cheers and applause ] -morning, ronnie. -morning. how you doing? -doing great. -alright, we're gonna go today. ♪ ♪ -there it is.

♪ let's go. [ indistinct speaking ] ♪ 195, here we come. -okay, everybody, high five! [ all chanting "hup" ] -hooray! -whoo-hoo! -alright. ♪ -morning, gentlemen. welcome to the 195. we're gonna have a wonderful day today. -when you're up there at 195-foot level and you're getting ready to get in the vehicle, it's pretty amazing. i mean, you're all suited up, and this is for real. and the vehicle -- it's venting, it's creaking. it's like it's alive. you just can't believe in a couple hours you're gonna be inside this thing, blasting off into space.

for me, if there was any apprehension, it was then, i mean, but you can't say, "no, i don't think i want to do this." [ chuckles ] you know? you're pretty much -- you're going. ♪ -how do you do? good to see you. -thank you. -good to see you. -thank you. -doc. -the astronaut support personnel -- the final folks to speak to them and the crew that's strapping them in to the vehicle. -here we go. -and the nasa test director, jeff spaulding, has given approval for the crew to begin entry into the vehicle. once they're in their seats, they will be basically laying on their backs. husband climbing in. next to enter the vehicle will be ilan ramon. and he is currently taking his seat on the mid-deck.

-here at the kennedy space center in florida, a lot of concern about security with the first israeli astronaut on board columbia for this 16-day science mission. i'm there to cover that launch, like we always were. i'm three miles away, which is as close as they let anybody. -28th launch for columbia, the 113th shuttle mission launch. i'm always thinking about what i would say if things go really wrong, uh, and -- because that's my responsibility to be that person. one of the experiments on board the shuttle columbia... so you sort of have to go down the list of threats, if you will, you know, 9/11, ilan ramon. did they really fix those cracks? and then it's up to, you know, a million movable parts all working in synchronicity, which is kind of the fact that it ever worked at all is pretty amazing. -back here in the space shuttle flight control room,

monitoring columbia's systems in preparation for the first shuttle launch of the year. -thank you very much. -the ascent team is led by flight director leroy cain for today's launch. -okay, folks. one ops, one, count to 20. -as a flight controller in mission control, sts-107 was my second mission. for me, it was always when you got the t-minus 10 minute hold and you give the final "go/no go" for launch. that is kind of the moment where you realize that this is about to get real. -go/no go for launch, final. guidance? gc? prop? gnc? max? -for me personally, i could feel my adrenaline gland just go and then my heart rate pick up a little bit. -you ready for g1 launch target? -there's a lot of responsibility. you're getting ready to launch a space shuttle with humans on board. it is not an easy business. -houston, flight is go. -you're committed at that point,

so now it's focus on what's ahead of you. -countdown clock will resume on my mark. three, two, one, mark. -t-minus nine minutes and counting.

[ indistinct conversations ] -it's a weird feeling, you know? your loved one is strapped into that vehicle,

and it's getting ready to launch. i just thought, "i have absolutely no control over how this is gonna go." -gls is go for orbiter access arm retract. -i do remember looking at the shuttle getting ready to take off. -he was adamant, now to me, that he didn't want his mom to go. and then he started crying. the whole the whole launch was him crying. it was awful. ♪ -i was 12 years old when the launch date came. i could see the shuttle from afar and be like, "wow, my father is on that shuttle right now. he's strapped in, about to be launched into space." ♪ we were so excited. it was hard to contain. -for the first two-plus minutes of the mission, with the solid rocket boosters attached,

there's no option for abort. you have to wait till they're done and burned out and cut away. that's a death zone. no matter what happens in that scenario, you cannot do anything. that was when the challenger went down. -11, 10... -9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. [ cheers and applause ] -the weird thing is that you see that flash and you see that smoke coming up and it's like, "well -- well, that sucks. there's no sound." and then it's... [ rumbling ] ..."ba-boom." [ crowd cheering ] ♪ -you don't quite expect it to be as powerful. -107! -whoo! -107! -you feel your insides shaking and vibrating from this huge sound.

♪ it's hard not to cry. -for me, it's like "the star-spangled banner" playing. it's incredibly visceral and inspirational. -you sit there and you look at that trail of fire and you think, "god, there's seven people on top of that." every time that kind of gets me. -and you're watching seven of your closest friends on this ball of flame going off into space and my heart's going like this and, you know, i got tears running down my -- i mean, it's very emotional. -columbia's three main engines draining a half a ton of fuel per second, heading towards space on the first shuttle mission of the year. -you know how on tv it looks like

you're going up really smoothly? no, not at all. it's kind of a wild ride. and there's a lot of vibration. and on my first flight, it was so much, i thought to myself, "there's something wrong here. cannot possibly feel like this." ♪ -solid rocket booster separation confirmed. guidance now converging. columbia's onboard computers commanding the main engine nozzles to gently swivel, aiming the shuttle for a precise target in space for main engine cutoff. -i was, like, more nervous. you know, you see the plumes of smoke and the fire, and you kind of know what's going on, but you're just kind of like in the back of your head, "is i supposed to do that? is that correct? okay, like, there they go. wow, that's so high." you know, just all these thoughts, and then all of a sudden they're just gone and you're just still hearing it. ♪ -and a perfect launch for columbia, a perfect climb to orbit,

seven astronauts now setting off on a 16-day marathon scientific mission. ♪ -the space shuttle columbia is safe in orbit, and here at the kennedy space center in florida, nasa and the us air force. breathing a collective sigh of relief. ♪ -they're in orbit, and that's when you're -- you know, you're home free. -so it was like a sigh of relief when they -- when they were, you know, up in space, and it was like, "whew, they made it."

-let's take a look at the view from orbit. this is 225 kilometers above us. ♪ -once they turn off those main engines and they're in orbit, you know, you're in a relatively safe situation. you can safely walk away from the camera. and they started quickly playing the launch replays, and -- and that was when we saw it. i was in our truck. producer called me in. he said, "you got to look at this." it was kind of a grainy image, but, you know, you see this poof, like a -- like you dropped a bag of flour on the ground and it all floated into the air. didn't take much of a telephoto to show this kind of explosion. he played it over and over again. but it did not look good at all. it looked bad.