On This Day: Space shuttle Columbia breaks apart upon re-entry On Feb. 1, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia broke apart during its descent over the southwestern United States. All seven astronauts aboard were killed. By (0) A piece of the space shuttle Columbia dropped in a pasture just outside of San Augustine, Texas, on February 1, 2003. File Photo by Joe Mitchell/UPI | License Photo Marines are pinned down behind a wall near the old citadel in the city of Hue in South Vietnam on February 4, 1968. On February 1, I 1968, the communist Viet Cong began a major offensive in the Vietnam War with a fierce attack on the city. UPI File Photo | License Photo