(December 30, 2008)— NASA released graphic report 400-page report Tuesday that details the deaths of the crew of the shuttle Columbia, which broke up in 2003 as it streaked high above Texas on its way to a landing in Florida.

The report says the seat restraints, space suits and helmets of the doomed crew didn't work well, leading to "lethal trauma" as the out-of-control ship broke apart on Feb. 1, 2003 high above Texas, killing all seven astronauts.

Some Central Texas residents who got up early to watch the reentry witnessed the disaster.

Debris from the shuttle was strewn from just east of Interstate 35 into Louisiana.

NASA further studied the shuttle tragedy to help design a new spacecraft more likely to survive an accident.

Columbia disintegrated on re-entry to Earth after its mission because of damage to the shuttle's left wing shortly after launch.

Commander Rick Husband, pilot William McCool, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark, and Ilan Ramon of Israel died in the disaster.

The study found that the shuttle depressurized so rapidly that crewmembers were incapacitated within seconds before they could configure their pressure suits to protect against the loss of cabin pressure.

“Although circulatory systems functioned for a brief time, the effects of the depressurization were severe enough that the crew could not have regained consciousness. This event was lethal to the crew,” the study says.

Once the crewmembers lost consciousness, the study says, the mechanisms on shoulder harnesses did not lock.

“As a result, the unconscious or deceased crew was exposed to cyclical rotational motion while restrained only at the lower body. Crew helmets do not conform to the head. Consequently, lethal trauma occurred to the unconscious or deceased crew due to the lack of upper body support and restraint,” the report said.

“The breakup of the crew module and the crew’s subsequent exposure to hypersonic entry conditions was not survivable by any currently existing capability,” the report said.

“Crew circulatory functions ceased shortly before or during this event.”

“The only known complete protection from this event would be to prevent its occurrence.”

“The Columbia accident was not survivable,” the report said.

“After the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) investigation regarding the cause of the accident was completed, further consideration produced the question of whether there were lessons to be learned about how to improve crew survival in the future. This investigation was performed with the belief that a comprehensive, respectful investigation could provide knowledge that can protect future crews in the worldwide community of human space flight.”

“This report is the first comprehensive, publicly available accident investigation report addressing crew survival for a human spacecraft mishap, and it provides key information for future crew survival investigations. The results of this investigation are intended to add meaning to the sacrifice of the crew’s lives by making space flight safer for all future generations.”

Columbia Crew

Commander Rick Husband, 45, was an Air Force colonel from Amarillo, Texas. The former test pilot was selected as an astronaut in 1994 on his fourth try. He was survived by his wife and two children. Besides flying, Husband's other passion in life was singing. The baritone sang in a church choir for years and used to sing in barbershop quartets.

Pilot William McCool, 41, was a Navy commander who grew up in Lubbock, Texas. He graduated second in his 1983 class at the Naval Academy, went on to test pilot school and became an astronaut in 1996. McCool was an experienced Navy pilot with more than 2,800 hours in flight. McCool was married with three sons. The Columbia mission was his first spaceflight.

Payload commander Michael Anderson, 43, was the son of an Air Force man and grew up on military bases. He was flying for the Air Force when NASA chose him in 1994 as one of only a handful of black astronauts. He traveled to Russia's Mir space station in 1998. The lieutenant colonel was a native of Spokane, Wash. and was married with two daughters. He was in charge of Columbia's dozens of science experiments.

Kalpana Chawla, 41, emigrated to the United States from India in 1980s. At the time, she wanted to design aircraft. The alumna of the University of Texas at Arlington was chosen as an astronaut in 1994 after working at NASA's Ames Research Center in northern California. She had flown to space once before, in 1997. She was survived by a husband.

David Brown, 46, was a Navy captain, pilot and doctor. The Arlington, Va., native joined the Navy after a medical internship, then went on to fly the A-6E Intruder and F-18. He became an astronaut in 1996. Columbia's mission was his first spaceflight.

Laurel Clark, 41, was a diving medical officer aboard submarines and then a flight surgeon before she became an astronaut in 1996. Her role on Columbia was to help with science experiments. The Racine, Wis., native was married to a NASA doctor and had a son.

Ilan Ramon, 48, was a colonel in Israel's air force and the first Israeli in space. His mother and grandmother survived the Auschwitz death camp, and his father fought for Israel's statehood alongside grandfather. Ramon fought in the Yom Kippur War 1973 and the Lebanon War 1982 and served for years as a fighter pilot. He was chosen as Israel's first astronaut in 1997, then moved to Houston the next year to train. He had a wife and four children who lived in Tel Aviv.

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