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Copernical Team
The moon is a sight for scientific eyes at Raytheon Intelligence and Space
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![](https://www.spxdaily.com/images-bg/lunar-tycho-crater-very-long-baseline-array-green-bank-moon-bg.jpg)
RIT scientists help rediscover earliest known star map using multispectral imaging
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New explanation for Jupiter's two massive asteroid swarms
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![](https://www.spxdaily.com/images-bg/trojan-asteroids-orbital-chart-bg.jpg)
Space Shuttle Columbia launched for the last time 20 years ago in mission that ended in tragedy
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![Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Space Shuttle Columbia](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2023/space-shuttle-columbia.jpg)
It was a cool Thursday morning in Cape Canaveral as the nation's first space shuttle was about to make its last ever trip into space.
Space Shuttle Columbia lifted off at 10:39 a.m. Eastern time on Jan. 16, 2003, from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A with a crew of seven.
"The Lord has blessed us with a beautiful day here," mission commander Rick Husband said over the radio just before liftoff. "We appreciate all of the hard work everyone has put into this, and we are ready to go."
Husband's crew were shuttle pilot William McCool, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon, who was the first Israeli to go into space.
All seven died 16 days later when the shuttle disintegrated on re-entry, the result of a chunk of insulating foam that had broken off from the external fuel tank and hit the left wing of the orbiter during the launch. The damage was fatal as the extreme heat would be the vessel's demise as it streaked across the skies over Texas.
Columbia's final mission was the orbiter's 28th overall, the 113th mission for the shuttle program.
2023 Copernicus Sentinels calendar
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Download the 2023 Sentinels calendar
ChatGPT bot 'for professional use' on the way
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Start ups grow diamond qubits
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New spin control method brings billion-qubit quantum chips closer
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Runaway West Antarctic ice retreat can be slowed by climate-driven ocean temps
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SEXBOMB being moved to Cornwall Space Port for hypersonic developments
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