Liftoff Videos

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Michael P. Anderson

Portrait photograph of Michael P. Anderson

Photo: NASA / Public domain (US government work)

Michael Anderson was a United States Air Force officer and NASA astronaut, born on 25 December 1959. He flew on STS-89 in 1998, a shuttle flight to the Russian space station Mir, and on STS-107 in 2003, as payload commander in charge of science experiments aboard Columbia. He and his six fellow crew members were killed in the Columbia disaster on 1 February 2003, when the shuttle disintegrated during re-entry. He was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. Wikidata records 24 days and 18 hours in space. Columbia STS-107 is where his mission and the official findings are covered.

Born
25 December 1959
Died
1 February 2003
Country
United States
Flights
2: STS-89 (1998), STS-107 (2003)
Time in space
24 days 18 hours

Data as of 2 November 2026. Source: Wikidata (CC0). All people who have flown in space.

Events

Videos on this topic

The videos, in date order

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

    Weird History

  2. Columbia STS-107: How a Foam Strike Led to Breakup on Re-entry

    3DCrash

  3. Columbia’s Last Mission: Foam Strike to Breakup Over Texas

    The Infographics Show

  4. Columbia STS-107: How a Foam Strike and Missed Imagery Led to Loss

    Andy R Animations

  5. Space Shuttle Story in a Card Box: Enterprise, Challenger, Columbia

    The Record Institute
Play video: Space Shuttle Story in a Card Box: Enterprise, Challenger, Columbia

Space Shuttle Story in a Card Box: Enterprise, Challenger, Columbia

The Record Institute

Duration 10:37

Watch video

Dates are when each video was first published on YouTube.

All the videos

  1. Columbia’s Last Mission: Foam Strike to Breakup Over Texas

    DocumentaryThe Infographics Show · 21:04

    Mission: Columbia STS-107 (2003)

  3. Columbia STS-107: How a Foam Strike Led to Breakup on Re-entry

    Mission explainer3DCrash · 7:33

    Mission: Columbia STS-107 (2003)

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

    DocumentaryWeird History · 10:53

    Mission: Columbia STS-107 (2003)

  5. Columbia STS-107: How a Foam Strike and Missed Imagery Led to Loss

    DocumentaryAndy R Animations · 1:49:25

    Mission: Columbia STS-107 (2003)

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