Editor’s note: Reporter Kevin Spear was part of the Orlando Sentinel’s coverage team for the Space Shuttle Columbia accident, which occurred 20 years ago this week on Feb. 1, 2003. He offers this ...

When the Challenger space shuttle exploded a little over a minute after its launch in 1986, it pierced the dreams of millions who watched the tragedy unfold live on television. It also eventually ...

This cover image released by Avid Reader shows "Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space" by Adam Higginbotham Avid Reader via AP ...

Columbia was the oldest shuttle in the fleet, and the only one not designed to dock with the international space station. Ironically, this shuttle was originally designed with a space station in mind, ...

The orbiter broke apart while reentering the atmosphere at the end of the STS-107 mission. February 1, 2003 will live up as one of the saddest days in the history of space exploration. Just 22 minutes ...

This cover image released by Avid Reader shows "Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space" by Adam Higginbotham. (Avid Reader via AP) 34,435 people played the daily ...

A wreath is presented by, from left, Bob Cabana, Associate Administrator of NASA; Janet Petro, NASA KSC director, and Sheryl Chaffee, daughter of Apollo 1 astronaut Roger Chaffee, during NASA's Day of ...

ORLANDO, Fla. — “Never again” is the phrase echoed among NASA leaders recalling the last major tragedy in the space program that occurred 20 years ago this week, when Space Shuttle Columbia broke ...

“Never again” is the phrase echoed among NASA leaders recalling the last major tragedy in the space program that occurred 20 years ago this week, when Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart over Texas on ...

WASHINGTON - On February 1, 2003, seven astronauts were killed when the space shuttle Columbia broke apart during re-entry. Columbia disintegrated upon reentry after a piece of fuel-tank foam came off ...

When the Space Shuttle Columbia lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Fla., for its April 12, 1981 maiden voyage, it ushered in a new and exciting age of space travel and ...