Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

The Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster was a fatal accident in the US space program that on occured August 16th, 1998 as Space Shuttle Columbia returned to orbit with the first crew of Space Station Freedom. However, its heat shield was penetrated as it re-entered, resulting in its disintegration and the death of all 6 astronauts aboard.

The crew of this mission were.

Response
As a result of failure in the Shuttle design, all shuttle missions would be halted for a year, or until August 1999. During this timeframe, an investigation was held into the faults of the orbiter and into orbiters, in order to prevent another disaster from occuring. Memorials would be held across America and around the world.

The Clinton administration would move to start the Space Shuttle Program Mark II as a safter, more modern successor, by continuing and increasing the funding and testing of various proposed successors: Lockheed Martin's X-33, NASA's X-38 and HL-20.

Legacy
The Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster was considered the final nail in the coffin in the Space Shuttle Program, resulting in its end in 2006. It was often contributed to "speeding up the process", and that if it didn't occur, it would've occurred in another orbiter eventually.