AT 8:15 A.M. EASTERN TIME ON SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, THE space shuttle Columbia, 175 miles above the Indian Ocean, fired its engines to begin its hour-long descent to Cape Canaveral. With its onboard computers closely monitored by the Mission Control Center in Houston and directing its maneuvers perfectly, the seven men and women aboard had little to do but watch their instrument panels. Over Hawaii, the craft began to glow pink as parts of its surface heated to as high as 3,000 degrees—still all normal. The first sign of trouble appeared as Columbia passed over California. Four temperature sensors in the left wing failed, and temperatures in a brake line began to rise. A minute later, over Nevada, temperatures on the left side of the fuselage went up. At 8:59, Houston and the crew began discussing what looked like a handful of glitches.

The Houston communicator, Charlie Hobaugh, said, “Columbia, Houston, we see your tire-pressure messages and we did not copy your last.”

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