Space Shuttle Columbia OV-102 | STS-93
Launch Successful
L - -- : -- : -- : --
Instantaneous launch window.
Launch Window
July 23, 1999, 4:31 a.m. - July 23, 1999, 4:31 a.m.
Instantaneous launch window.
July 23, 1999, 4:31 a.m. - July 23, 1999, 4:31 a.m.
STS-93 marked the 95th launch of the Space Shuttle, the 26th launch of Columbia, and the 21st night launch of a Space Shuttle. Eileen Collins became the first female shuttle Commander on this flight. Its primary payload was the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS). Five complete Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles were built and flown on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011.
Space Shuttle Columbia (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-102) was the first space-rated orbiter in NASA's Space Shuttle fleet. It launched for the first time on mission STS-1 on April 12, 1981, the first flight of the Space Shuttle program. Over 22 years of service, it completed 27 missions before disintegrating during re-entry near the end of its 28th mission, STS-107 on February 1, 2003, resulting in the deaths of all seven crew members.
Space Shuttle Details
Date of
Birth: Nov. 19, 1956
Age: 69
Date of
Birth: June 16, 1954
Age: 72
Date of
Birth: Sept. 30, 1949
Age: 76
Date of
Birth: Dec. 14, 1960
Age: 65
Date of
Birth: Dec. 12, 1951
Age: 74
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA have many launch facilities but most are inactive. The most commonly used pad will be LC-39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
INFO WIKI
The aftermath of a supernova, a stellar explosion, is usually a slowly fading cloud of hot gas. So when astronomers pointed NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory at the nearby galaxy Messier 83 (M83), they did not expect to find a population of…
Using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers may have found a supernova remnant in an intriguing neighborhood in the middle of our galaxy. A paper describing these new findings published in The Astrophysical Journal. Super…
This image of Westerlund 2 released on March 19, 2026, features Chandra X-ray Observatory data (pink) and infrared data from NASA’S James Webb Space Telescope (red, orange, green, cyan, and blue). Scores of gleaming stars ringed in neon pi…
A new “X-ray dot” found by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory – which could look like this artist’s illustration released on April 28, 2026 – could explain what the hundreds or potentially thousands of these objects are. Shortly after NASA’s…
A newly discovered object may be a key to unlocking the true nature of a mysterious class of sources that astronomers have found in the early universe in recent years. A “X-ray dot” found by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory could explain w…
Fourteenth batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Offi…
Amazon Leo, formerly known as Project Kuiper, is a mega constellation of satellites in Low Earth Orbit that will offer broadband internet access, thi…
AST SpaceMobile’s Block 2 BlueBird satellites are designed to deliver up to 10 times the bandwidth capacity of the BlueBird Block 1 satellites, requi…
Note: Unofficial reports indicate there may be 1 or more additional satellites that failed to separate from the upper stage, however this is not offi…
A batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…
Classified experimental Chinese satellite of unknown purposes (officially described for "spatial environment detection" purposes).
A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
8 Earth observation satellites for the Jilin-1 commercial Earth observation satellites constellation: * High Resolution-04D 01-02 * High Resoluti…
A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Test flight of the H3-30 variant of the H3 launch vehicle with 3 LE-9 engines in the first stage and no SRBs. The flight will carry a dummy main payl…