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William C. McCool

Portrait photograph of William C. McCool

Photo: NASA / Public domain (US government work)

William McCool, known as Willie, was an American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer and NASA astronaut, born on 23 September 1961. He was the pilot of Space Shuttle Columbia on STS-107, his only spaceflight. He and the rest of the STS-107 crew were killed on 1 February 2003, when Columbia disintegrated during re-entry. He was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. Wikidata records 15 days and 22 hours in space. The videos about him belong to the Columbia STS-107 page, where the official investigation is covered, and where the whole crew is listed together.

Born
23 September 1961
Died
1 February 2003
Country
United States
Flights
1: STS-107 (2003)
Time in space
15 days 22 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 the Shuttle’s Loss

    100% True Docs | Full Documentaries

  3. Columbia STS-107: From Foam Strike to Breakup on Re-entry

    Documentary Overload

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

    3DCrash

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

    The Infographics Show

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

    Andy R Animations

  7. 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 Led to the Shuttle’s Loss

    Documentary100% True Docs | Full Documentaries · 54:15

    Mission: Columbia STS-107 (2003)

  6. Columbia STS-107: From Foam Strike to Breakup on Re-entry

    DocumentaryDocumentary Overload · 54:15

    Mission: Columbia STS-107 (2003)

  7. 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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