**Remembering Columbia: Seven Heroes and Lessons for the Stars**
Published: January 19, 2026
Duration: 1:43
# This is your Astronomy Tonight podcast.
Good evening, stargazers! Today we're celebrating January 19th, and boy, do we have a cosmic milestone to discuss!
**On this date in 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart during re-entry.**
Now, before you think this is all doom and gloom—let me tell you why this moment matters so profoundly to astronomy and our understanding of space exploration. Columbia was returning from the STS-107 mission, a 16-day scientific expedition where the crew conducted over 80 experiments in the Spacelab module. Among those experiments were observations and data collection that co...
Good evening, stargazers! Today we're celebrating January 19th, and boy, do we have a cosmic milestone to discuss!
**On this date in 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart during re-entry.**
Now, before you think this is all doom and gloom—let me tell you why this moment matters so profoundly to astronomy and our understanding of space exploration. Columbia was returning from the STS-107 mission, a 16-day scientific expedition where the crew conducted over 80 experiments in the Spacelab module. Among those experiments were observations and data collection that co...