Porter-area historical tornado activity is near Oklahoma state average. It is 167% greater than the overall U.S. average.
The Space Shuttle program, officially called the Space Transportation System (STS), was the United States government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011, administered by NASA and officially beginning in 1972.
Columbia Disaster: What Happened, What NASA Learned. On Feb. 1, 2003, space shuttle Columbia broke up as it returned to Earth, killing the seven astronauts on board. NASA suspended space shuttle flights for more than two years as it investigated the disaster. An investigation board determined that a large piece of foam fell from the shuttle's external tank and fatally breached the spacecraft wing.