WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

Against a backdrop of blue sky and the
blue Atlantic Ocean, launch of Space Shuttle Columbia is reflected in
the nearby water. Following a flawless and uneventful countdown,
liftoff occurred on-time at 10:39 a.m. EST. The 16-day STS-107
research mission will include FREESTAR (Fast Reaction Experiments
Enabling Science, Technology, Applications and Research) and the SHI
Research Double Module (SHI/RDM), known as SPACEHAB. Experiments on
the module range from material sciences to life sciences. This mission
is the first Shuttle mission of 2003. Mission STS-107 is the 28th
flight of the orbiter Columbia and the 113th flight overall in NASA's
Space Shuttle program.