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A close-up camera view shows Space Shuttle Columbia as it lifts off from Launch Pad 39A on mission STS-107. Following a flawless and uneventful countdown, liftoff occurred on-time at 10:39 a.m. EST. The 16-day research mission included 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 ranged from material sciences to life sciences. Landing of Columbia was scheduled for Saturday, February 1, but due to damage to the thermal protection system Columbia was destroyed and the crew was lost on reentry.

The mission was the first Shuttle mission of 2003, the 28th and final flight of the orbiter Columbia and the 113th flight overall in NASA's Space Shuttle program.