Here’s the latest widely covered spaceflight incident people often refer to when asking about a shuttle blowing up on reentry:
- The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster (STS-107) in February 2003. Columbia disintegrated during reentry over Texas after a foam piece damaged the left wing during launch, allowing superheated air to breach the wing and catastrophically fail the vehicle. This remains the only Space Shuttle loss during reentry in NASA’s Shuttle program.[1][9]
If you’re looking for more recent developments or other incidents people sometimes confuse with “blown up on reentry,” I can pull up a brief explainer comparing Columbia to the Challenger disaster (which occurred shortly after launch in 1986, not during reentry) and summarize common misconceptions. Would you like that?[5][9]
Sources
Both physical and cultural problems led to the breakup of Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003, which claimed the lives of seven astronauts.
www.astronomy.comSpace Shuttle Columbia blew up and disintegrated in flames over Texas Saturday morning, killing all seven astronauts aboard and scattering debris over four states and the Gulf of Mexico.
www.foxnews.comThe cause of the disaster was the failure of the primary and secondary O-ring seals in a joint in the right Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB). The record-low temperatures on the morning of the launch had stiffened the rubber O-rings, reducing their ability to seal the joints. Shortly after liftoff, the seals were breached, and hot pressurized gas from within the SRB leaked through the joint and burned through the aft attachment strut connecting it to the external propellant tank (ET),...
wikipedia.nucleos.com科学技術分野の 事故や 失敗の 知識と 教訓
www.shippai.orgThe latest Tweet by PolitiFact states, 'An old conspiracy theory falsely claims that the Challenger NASA space shuttle never blew up and its crew is still alive. The Challenger exploded Jan. 28, 1986 on live television, killing all seven crew members on board. ...' 🔎 An Old Conspiracy Theory Falsely Claims That the Challenger NASA Space Shuttle Never Blew ... - Latest Tweet by PolitiFact.
www.latestly.comUsing robot arm to look over heat shield critical for re-entry to be sure it made it through launch in good shape
www.cbsnews.com