the first US space shuttle (= spacecraft that can be used again). Its first flight was in 1981 with two astronauts, John Young and Robert Crippen. By 1996 Columbia had made 20 flights and that year made the longest one (more than 405 hours). In 2003 all seven crew members died when the space shuttle exploded as it was returning to earth.
COLUMBIA
Meaning of COLUMBIA in English
Oxford guide to British and American culture English vocabulary. Руководство по британской и американской культуре, Оксфордский английский словарь. 2005