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During re-entry, the Columbia space shuttle was pulled apart because a hole in the wing caused by falling foam at lift-off allowed the extreme heat of the re-entry process to enter the wing structure and warp it. This destabilized the shuttle and it disintegrated from the enormous forces at high velocity. All seven crew members died.

Approximately 85,000 pieces of debris were housed in the Columbia Debris Hangar near the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center. This represented 38 percent of Columbia. Recovered pieces were identified and positioned on an outline of the orbiter. After this, pieces were available to scientific researchers around the world.

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The Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entering Earth's atmosphere on February 1, 2003, leading to the loss of the spacecraft and the tragic deaths of all seven crew members on board. The accident was caused by damage to the shuttle's heat shield, which occurred during launch when a piece of foam insulation struck the shuttle's wing.

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Q: What happened to the Columbia spacecraft eventually?
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