Columbia Diaster Time Line

[Premgenius]

For the doomed crew of the Columbia space shuttle, it took just seven minutes to take their journey from the brink of mission accomplished to disaster and tragedy.

Satellite picutre of explosion

Here is a breakdown of the final moments of the Columbia's journey, based on news reports and the independent Spaceflight Now mission website:

1353 GMT: Some sensors for recording the temperatures in the spacecraft's hydraulic systems, both inboard and outboard, go offline. An independent commission set up by Nasa to investigate the tragedy said this was the first indication of trouble. The spacecraft had just re-entered the atmosphere and was to be subjected to its highest temperatures.

1356: Temperatures in the housing of the left main landing gear rise. At this point the shuttle is 207,135ft or 39 miles up and travelling at 12,500mph - 18 times the speed of sound.

1358: Temperature sensors in the left wing, embedded in the structure of the vehicle, stop working.

1359: Pressure and temperature sensors for both tyres on the left main landing gear go offline.

1400: Residents in North Texas report hearing a "big bang" in the skies. At the same time all radio and data communication with the Columbia is lost. The final radio transmission between Mission Control and the shuttle at this time gave little indication of any trouble.

Mission Control radios: "Columbia, Houston, we see your tyre pressure messages and we did not copy your last."

Columbia's commander, Rick Husband, calmly responds: "Roger, uh, buh ..."

The transmission then went silent for several seconds before nothing but static is heard. Television pictures show a bright light over Texas followed by smoke plumes streaking across the sky.

1416: Columbia is scheduled to land at Cape Canaveral in Florida but there remains no sight or word.

1431: Nasa, having already declared an emergency and that it was "fearing the worst", announces search and rescue teams are being mobilised in the Dallas and Fort Worth areas.

Within hours debris begins to be recovered from across Texas.

Source: Sky News