Videos

Photo: NASA / Public domain (US government work)

16 January 2003

Columbia STS-107

Seven crew, a 16-day science mission and the investigation that followed

Space Shuttle Columbia broke up during re-entry over Texas on 1 February 2003, ending the 16-day STS-107 science mission and the lives of all seven crew: Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board found that a piece of foam insulation from the external tank had struck the left wing's leading edge during launch.

9 video perspectives

Columbia STS-107: Foam Impact Test Blows Hole in Wing Panel

Archive footage from 7 July 2003 shows a foam block fired from a gun at a carbon-reinforced panel from shuttle Atlantis, leaving a hole.

Published 21 Jul 2015
Columbia STS-107: How Foam Damage Led to Seven Deaths on Reentry

A retrospective on the loss of space shuttle Columbia on February 1, 2003, during reentry after a roughly two-week science mission, which killed all seven crew members.

Published 22 Oct 2021
Columbia Disaster: How ABC News Reported the Shuttle’s Loss

ABC News' Feb. 1, 2003 broadcast reported that Space Shuttle Columbia broke up on re-entry, killing all seven astronauts, about 16 minutes from home.

Published 1 Feb 2024
Columbia STS-107: How a Foam Strike Led to the Shuttle’s Loss

A documentary on the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia on 1 February 2003, which killed all seven crew members on re-entry.

Published 8 Aug 2025

5 more on the mission page

Photo: NASA/Crew of STS-132 / Public domain

20 November 1998

International Space Station

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The International Space Station program began in 1998 with the launch of the Zarya module, the first piece of a station assembled from Russian, American and European parts. The facts list its outcome as in progress, and plans now call for it to be deorbited.

1 video perspective

ISS Story: From Zarya’s 1998 Launch to Planned De-Orbit

A DW documentary on the International Space Station, whose first module, Zarya, was launched on a Proton rocket on 20 November 1998.

Published 7 May 2024

Photo: NASA / Public domain

11 February 1997

STS-82 Hubble Servicing Mission 2

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1 video perspective

STS-82: How Discovery’s Crew Gave Hubble Infrared Vision

Servicing Mission 2 to the Hubble Space Telescope launched on Feb.

Published 16 Feb 2021

Photo: NASA / Public domain (US government work)

2 December 1993

Hubble Servicing Mission 1

Eyeglasses for the Hubble Space Telescope

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On 2 December 1993 the shuttle Endeavour lifted off on STS-61, carrying seven astronauts to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, whose main mirror had been ground to the wrong shape. Over five spacewalks the crew fitted corrective optics, a new camera, new solar arrays and new gyroscopes, and the telescope began to deliver sharp images.

2 video perspectives

Hubble Servicing Mission 1: Endeavour’s Repair of a Flawed Mirror

Servicing Mission 1 launched on December 2, 1993, aboard the space shuttle Endeavour to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, whose primary mirror had been ground too flat.

Published 2 Dec 2020
Hubble Servicing Mission: How Endeavour’s Crew Fixed the Mirror

A documentary on the first Hubble servicing mission, flown on Space Shuttle Endeavour, which set out to correct the telescope's flawed mirror and replace failing hardware.

Published 31 Oct 2021

Photo: NASA/Crew of STS-81 / Public domain

19 February 1986

Mir

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1 video perspective

Mir Space Station: Building and Ending a 15-Year Orbital Outpost

A history of the Mir space station, whose core module launched on a Proton-K from Baikonur on 19 February 1986.

Published 1 Nov 2021

Photo: NASA / Public domain (US government work)

28 January 1986

Challenger STS-51-L

Seven crew, the Rogers Commission and a joint seal

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Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after liftoff on 28 January 1986, ending mission STS-51-L and the lives of all seven crew: Dick Scobee, Michael Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Gregory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe. The Rogers Commission found that a seal in the aft field joint of the right solid rocket booster had failed.

21 video perspectives

Challenger: O-Rings, a Cold Launch Night and NASA’s Decisions

A Retro Report film from The New York Times on the Challenger disaster of Jan.

Published 2 Jun 2014
Challenger STS-51L: How Cold O-Rings Led to the 1986 Disaster

Challenger STS-51L, carrying seven crew including teacher Christa McAuliffe, began to disintegrate 73 seconds after liftoff on January 28, 1986, killing all seven.

Published 20 Jul 2019
Challenger 51-L: O-Rings, a Cold Launch and the Decision to Go

A long documentary on the January 1986 loss of Space Shuttle Challenger on mission 51-L.

Published 19 Nov 2019
Challenger: How Cold-Shrunk O-Rings Led to the Booster Leak

The video recounts the Challenger launch, in which a flame from a solid rocket booster appeared 73 seconds after liftoff and the vehicle came apart.

Published 17 Apr 2022

17 more on the mission page

Photo: NASA / Public domain

International Space Station deorbit

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1 video perspective

How the ISS Will Be Destroyed at Point Nemo in 2030

The B1M explains how the International Space Station was built from Zarya in 1998 onward and why it is planned to be brought down in 2030 by a specially modified SpaceX Dragon, ending in the ocean…

Published 26 Mar 2025

Photo: National Aeronautics and Space Administration / Public domain

STS-109 Hubble Servicing Mission 3B

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1 video perspective

STS-109: Columbia’s Hubble Upgrade and the Leaking Spacesuit

NASA's Servicing Mission 3B, flown on space shuttle Columbia as STS-109, was the fourth visit to the Hubble Space Telescope and lasted 12 days with five spacewalks.

Published 1 Mar 2021

Photo: NASA Hubble Space Telescope / Public domain

Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions

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Fixing Hubble: Cepollina on Five Servicing Missions and COSTAR

Frank Cepollina of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center gives a Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum lecture on the five Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions.

Published 14 May 2015

Photo: NASA / Public domain

Hubble Servicing Mission 4

The last repair visit to Hubble, saved from cancellation

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Servicing Mission 4 was the fifth and final astronaut visit to the Hubble Space Telescope, flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis as STS-125 from 11 May 2009. Seven astronauts installed two new instruments, repaired two failed ones in orbit for the first time, and replaced the gyroscopes and batteries that keep Hubble working.

2 video perspectives

Hubble Servicing Mission 4: Final Shuttle Repair Plans Explained

A preview of Servicing Mission 4, the fifth and final shuttle visit to the Hubble Space Telescope.

Published 18 Jan 2009
Hubble Servicing Mission 4: From Cancellation to Final Repair

Servicing Mission 4 was the fifth and final servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Published 11 May 2021

Photo: NASA / Public domain

Mir Space Station

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1 video perspective

Mir in 1997: Fire, a Failed Docking System and a Progress Collision

A documentary-style account of the Mir space station, from its 1986 core module launch to the troubled year 1997.

Published 23 Jun 2021

Photo: NASA Hubble Space Telescope / Public domain (US government work)

Hubble Space Telescope

The telescope that was fixed in orbit

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The Hubble Space Telescope was launched on the shuttle Discovery on 24 April 1990 and found to have a flawed main mirror within weeks. Astronauts repaired it in orbit in 1993, and over four more servicing missions turned it into one of the most productive observatories in the history of astronomy.

3 video perspectives

Hubble Space Telescope: The Flawed Mirror and Costar Repair

This documentary traces how the Hubble Space Telescope was built after the Challenger loss, launched on the shuttle Discovery, and found to have a flawed mirror.

Published 1 Aug 2018
Hubble Space Telescope: Launch, Mirror Flaw and Servicing Fixes

A NASA Goddard documentary on the Hubble Space Telescope, from its shuttle launch and troubled deployment to the mirror flaw and the servicing missions that followed.

Published 16 Apr 2020
Hubble’s Flawed Mirror: How COSTAR Fixed It After Launch

Space Shuttle Discovery launched the Hubble telescope on 24 April 1990, but its 2.5 meter main mirror had a small flaw that made images blurry.

Published 24 Apr 2021

All missions

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12 missions

Columbia STS-107

Columbia STS-107: Foam Impact Test Blows Hole in Wing Panel

Columbia STS-107: How Foam Damage Led to Seven Deaths on Reentry

Columbia Disaster: How ABC News Reported the Shuttle’s Loss

Columbia STS-107: How a Foam Strike Led to the Shuttle’s Loss

International Space Station

ISS Story: From Zarya’s 1998 Launch to Planned De-Orbit

STS-82 Hubble Servicing Mission 2

STS-82: How Discovery’s Crew Gave Hubble Infrared Vision

Hubble Servicing Mission 1

Hubble Servicing Mission 1: Endeavour’s Repair of a Flawed Mirror

Hubble Servicing Mission: How Endeavour’s Crew Fixed the Mirror

Mir

Mir Space Station: Building and Ending a 15-Year Orbital Outpost

Challenger STS-51-L

Challenger: O-Rings, a Cold Launch Night and NASA’s Decisions

Challenger STS-51L: How Cold O-Rings Led to the 1986 Disaster

Challenger 51-L: O-Rings, a Cold Launch and the Decision to Go

Challenger: How Cold-Shrunk O-Rings Led to the Booster Leak

International Space Station deorbit

How the ISS Will Be Destroyed at Point Nemo in 2030

STS-109 Hubble Servicing Mission 3B

STS-109: Columbia’s Hubble Upgrade and the Leaking Spacesuit

Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions

Fixing Hubble: Cepollina on Five Servicing Missions and COSTAR

Hubble Servicing Mission 4

Hubble Servicing Mission 4: Final Shuttle Repair Plans Explained

Hubble Servicing Mission 4: From Cancellation to Final Repair

Mir Space Station

Mir in 1997: Fire, a Failed Docking System and a Progress Collision

Hubble Space Telescope

Hubble Space Telescope: The Flawed Mirror and Costar Repair

Hubble Space Telescope: Launch, Mirror Flaw and Servicing Fixes

Hubble’s Flawed Mirror: How COSTAR Fixed It After Launch