Space shuttle launch.

Shuttle Columbia Debris Site

Nacogdoches, Texas

The Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated 39 miles above Texas on February 1, 2003, a catastrophe during the ship's landing descent. Debris fell over a long swath of Texas and Louisiana, with over 1,200 pieces landing in and around the town of Nacogdoches. One chunk the size of a car hood crashed into a downtown parking lot with such force that it was reported to have blown open the doors of nearby buildings. The parking lot was later repaved and redesigned, with a small bronze disc to mark the landing spot.

A few feet away, next to the Masonic hall, a monument was built out of bricks to memorialize the Shuttle and its crew.

Columbia was the first space shuttle launched by NASA, on April 12, 1981.

Shuttle Columbia Debris Site

Address:: N. Fredonia St., Nacogdoches, TX
Directions:: On the west side of N. Fredonia St., in the parking lot behind the Commercial Bank of Texas building. The small memorial monument is at curbside, just to the left of the Masonic hall. The parking lot disc is about 15 feet to the left (and back from the street) in the left lane of a driveway to a bank drive-through window.
Admission:: Free

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In the region:

Museum for East Texas Culture, Palestine, TX - 58 mi.

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