Why the columbia space shuttle was blasted while landing?

Question

Why the columbia space shuttle was blasted while landing?

Answer 1

The loss of Columbia was a result of damage sustained during launch when a piece of foam insulation the size of a small briefcase broke off the Space Shuttle external tank (the main propellant tank) under the aerodynamic forces of launch. The debris struck the leading edge of the left wing, damaging the Shuttle's thermal protection system (TPS). While Columbia was still in orbit, some engineers suspected damage, but NASA managers limited the investigation on the grounds that little could be done even if problems were found.

Answer 2

It wasn't landing yet. Much heat is generated by air friction when a shuttle reenters the earth's atmosphere. The Columbia had a missing or broken ceramic tile on the bottom of and near the leading edge of the right wing. The tiles are not very big and they form the heat shield for the crafts reentry. When the gasses(air) outside the shuttle got hot and reached the plasma state they entered the wing through the broken or missing tile. The plasma caused massive structural damage to the wing causing it to break away from the shuttle making it unstable and causing it to start tumbling. At 18,000mph in the earth's atmosphere the tumbling Columbia quickly disintigrated. It happened over Texas and was visible from the ground.Most of the debris landed in east Texas and west Louisianna

Answer 3

It over heated while entering the atmosphere

Answer 4

Columbia carried a crew of seven astronauts: Rick Husband (commander), Willie McCool (pilot), Michael P. Anderson, Laurel B. Clark, David M. Brown, Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, and Kalpana Chawla.

Columbia at 8:57 AM February 1, 2003 over central New Mexico. Debris is visible coming off the left wing.

On the morning of February 1, 2003, the shuttle re-entered the atmosphere after a 16-day scientific mission. NASA lost radio contact at about 0900 EST, only minutes before the expected 0916 landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Video recordings show the craft breaking up in flames over Texas, at an altitude of approximately 39 miles (63 km) and a speed of 12,500 mph (5.6 km/s).