Columbia disaster, accident investigation debris analysis. Footage of accident investigators handling and analysing debris as part of the investigation into the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia during mission STS-107 (16 January to 1 February 2003). The shuttle broke up on re-entry due to damage sustained during launch, killing all seven on board (Rick Husband, William McCool, David M. Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Michael P. Anderson, Laurel Clark, and Ilan Ramon). The investigation by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (reporting in August 2003) concluded that foam debris from the external tank had damaged the leading edge of one of the shuttle's wings. Travelling at around 24, 000 kilometres per hour at an altitude of over 60 kilometres, the shuttle broke up in seconds with the resulting debris strewn across Texas and Louisiana. Tens of thousands of pieces of debris were recovered, accounting for about 40 percent of the shuttle and its payload.