Columbia history

The name Columbia has a long and storied history dating back to the seafaring vessels of Earth, of which there are nine in recorded history.

Earth
A shuttlecraft from the United States of America space program was named Columbia (OV-102). The ship was first launched on April 12th, 1981 and went on to fly a total of 28 missions before being destroyed during re-entry on February 1, 2003. (Star Trek: Between the Stars)

Warp-capable vessels bearing the name Columbia date back to pre-Federation Starfleet and the NX-class Starship Program. The Starship Columbia (NX-02) was launched under the command of Captain Erika Hernandez in 2154 and saw less than ten years of service, as she and her crew disappeared without a trace in 2161. (: "")

Federation
The first Federation starship to bear the name Columbia was a scout vessel (NCC-621), and was in service from the late 23rd century into the early 24th, when she was retired. The second USS Columbia to serve the Federation was an vessel, commissioned in 2304. Starfleet chose to honor the ship’s NX-02 predecessor by giving her the registry number NCC-2154: the year the NX-02 was launched. This Columbia was lost to the Breen via an experimental weapon in 2358. ( module: '') The third starship to bear the name Columbia was a cruiser (NCC-62154), launched in 2362. Along with 39 other ships, she was lost to the Borg in 2366 at Wolf 359.

It would be nearly six years before another Columbia was commissioned. In 2373, constructed at the Wolf 359 Memorial Fleet Yards, a starship was chosen to receive the name. Once again paying tribute to a preceding vessel, the newest Starship Columbia, the USS Columbia (NCC-75102) was listed with the registry number NCC-75102, after the shuttle OV-102. The ship's dedication plaque bears the statement "Sixth starship to bear the name" in further homage to the ill-fated shuttle and her crew. (Star Trek: Between the Stars)

Appendices
Columbia (OV-102) was a key-ship in real-world history:
 * The Columbia Accident Investigation Board determined that a hole was punctured in the leading edge on one of Columbia's wings, made of a carbon-carbon composite. The hole had formed when a piece of insulating foam from the external fuel tank peeled off during the launch 16 days earlier and struck the shuttle's wing. During the intense heat of re-entry hot gases penetrated the interior of the wing, destroying the support structure and causing the rest of the shuttle to break apart.