2月1日,正值中国农历大年初一,美国“哥伦比亚号”航天飞机在返航途中爆炸坠毁,7名宇航员全部遇难,这不免给节日的气氛笼上一层阴影。这次灾难是1957年10月4日世界上第一颗人造地球卫星发射成功以来,人类在开发和探索太空的过程中遭受的又一重大失败,它使世界上因航天灾难献身的人数达到22人。作为世界载人航天事 On February 1, coinciding with the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, the U.S. space shuttle Columbia Columbia exploded and crashed on the way back to China, leaving all seven astronauts killed. This inevitably cast a shadow over the festive atmosphere. This disaster was another major defeat in the development and exploration of space since the successful launch of the world’s first man-made earth satellite on 4 October 1957. It has brought the world’s number of people who have devoted themselves to astronauts to 22 people. As a world manned space mission