On Feb. 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia was returning to land at Kennedy Space Center when it disintegrated with seven astronauts on board.

On Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, WESH, Hearst’s NBC affiliate in Orlando, Fla., is airing WESH 2 Chronicle: Witness to History, The Loss of Shuttle Columbia, featuring personal accounts told by the reporters and anchors who covered the event.

The episode will feature personal accounts by retired WESH space reporter Dan Billow; anchors Jim Payne and Nancy Alvarez; and reporters Dave McDaniel, Greg Fox and Amanda Ober.

See what it was like as the tragedy unfolded through hours of archive footage of broadcasts and special reports.

Hear Billow’s dramatic account while reporting live from the Kennedy Space Center at the time Columbia was supposed to touch down and how his deep knowledge of the Shuttle program helped him pinpoint what went wrong before most experts.

Chronicle: Witness to History, The Loss of Shuttle Columbia airs on Wednesday, Feb.1, at 8 p.m..

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