missions into one final mission to Hubble. Because of the retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet, the batteries and gyroscopes that keep the telescope pointed will eventually fail, which would result in its reentry and break-up in Earth's atmosphere. A "Soft Capture Docking Mechanism", based on the docking adapter that was to be used on the Orion spacecraft, was installed during the last servicing mission in anticipation of this event. FlightsColumbia flew 28 missions, gathering 300.74 days spent in space with 4,808 orbits and a total distance of until STS-107. Though having been in service during the Shuttle-Mir and International Space Station programs, Columbia did not fly any missions that visited a space station. The other three active orbiters at the time had visited both Mir and the ISS at least once. Columbia was not suited for high-inclination missions. Mission and tribute insignias * Mission canceled following the Challenger disaster. ** Mission flown by Endeavour due to loss of Columbia on STS-107. Final mission and destruction [[File:ColumbiaFLIR2003.png|thumb|Rare Day TV (DTV) imaging photograph of Columbia's disintegration captured by an AH-64D Apache's gun camera during training with RNLAF (Royal Netherlands Air Force) personnel out of Fort Hood, Texas]]Columbia was destroyed at about 09:00 EST on February 1, 2003, while re-entering the atmosphere after a 16-day scientific mission. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board determined that a hole was punctured in the leading edge on one of Columbia's wings, which was made of a carbon composite. The hole had formed when a piece of insulating foam from the external fuel tank peeled off during the launch 16 days earlier and struck the shuttle's left wing. During the intense heat of re-entry, hot gases penetrated the interior of the wing, likely compromising the hydraulic system and leading to control failure of the control surfaces. The resulting loss of control exposed minimally protected areas of the orbiter to full-entry heating and dynamic pressures that eventually led to vehicle break up. The report delved deeply into the underlying organizational and cultural issues that the board believed contributed to the accident. The report was highly critical of NASA's decision-making and risk-assessment processes. Further, the board determined that, unlike NASA's early claims, a rescue mission would have been possible using the Shuttle Atlantis, which was essentially ready for launch and might have saved the Columbia crew members. The nearly 84,000 pieces of collected debris of the vessel are stored