NASA Shows 'Final Moments' Videotape from Columbia

By Melissa Block,

Published February 27, 2003 at 11:00 PM CST

NASA releases a videotape recorded on the space shuttle Columbia shortly before it broke up over Texas. The portion of the tape retrieved by NASA ends with the orbiter at 250,000 feet, approaching the coast of California. Hear NPR's Robert Siegel and NPR's Melissa Block.

Melissa Block

As special correspondent and guest host of NPR's news programs, Melissa Block brings her signature combination of warmth and incisive reporting. Her work over the decades has earned her journalism's highest honors, and has made her one of NPR's most familiar and beloved voices.

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Robert Siegel

Prior to his retirement, Robert Siegel was the senior host of NPR's award-winning evening newsmagazine All Things Considered. With 40 years of experience working in radio news, Siegel hosted the country's most-listened-to, afternoon-drive-time news radio program and reported on stories and happenings all over the globe, and reported from a variety of locations across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia. He signed off in his final broadcast of All Things Considered on January 5, 2018.

See stories by Robert Siegel