NASA Finds Large Piece of Shuttle Columbia's Wing
Updated 7:24 PM ET February 7, 2003
By Broward Liston
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Investigators have recovered a large piece of one of shuttle Columbia's wings, a significant find in the probe into what downed the doomed spacecraft, a NASA official said on Friday.
Recovered from the Fort Worth, Texas, area, the new fragment of Columbia's wreckage is made of black reinforced material meant to withstand the high temperatures on the shuttle's nose and leading edges of its wings during descent.
"There has been a significant recovery ... we do have a large piece of one of the wings," Michael Kostelnik, head of NASA's shuttle and space station programs, said at a briefing.
NASA said as of late Friday afternoon investigators had not determined if the segment, which included a length of hardened carbon from the leading edge of the wing and about 18 inches of wing structure, came from the left or right wing.
Investigators are looking at a low-resolution image of the shuttle's descent taken from a U.S. Air Force laboratory in the western United States at about the time Columbia crossed the California coast, when the first anomalies were spotted by ground controllers early on Feb. 1.
Minutes after these anomalies were detected, ground controllers lost all contact with the shuttle and soon after that, Columbia disintegrated over Texas, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
NASA made the grainy black-and-white photograph public late on Friday. It showed what might have been an irregularity along the leading edge of the left wing. Flight data showed that sensors began to go off line in the wheel-well and elsewhere on the left wing and shortly before the shuttle disintegrated.
NASA shuttle program manager Ron Dittemore said photo analysts were working with the image and cautioned reporters not to jump to conclusions before that work was done.
"It's not clear that there's something there, yet," he said. "It's not clear if it reveals anything significant at this point. All by itself, I don't think it's very revealing."
Dittemore said the photograph did not suggest whether the event that ultimately led to Columbia's disintegration occurred on lift-off, in orbit or during reentry.
Earlier in the day, Kostelnik said he was not aware of a high-resolution photograph reportedly made by the U.S. Air Force from the ground that showed a ragged edge on the shuttle's left wing.
HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGE
That report from Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine said the high-resolution image indicated serious damage to Columbia's left wing.
Since the disaster occurred, questions have centered on problems with the shuttle's left wing after photos taken some 81 seconds after launch showed a piece of foam insulation falling off the shuttle's external tank and hitting the underside of the left wing.
Citing unnamed sources close to the investigation, the magazine reported that Air Force images show a ragged edge on the left wing near the fuselage and signs the shuttle's right rear engine was working harder to compensate for the damage.
"It is possible, but yet not confirmed, that the impact of foam debris from the shuttle's external tank during launch could have played a role in damage to the wing leading edge, where the deformity appears in USAF imagery," it said.
At Florida's Kennedy Space Center, mourners gathered at landing strip 33, where Columbia had been scheduled to touch down last Saturday, for a memorial service for the fallen astronauts.
Astronaut Jim Halsell, a veteran shuttle commander now working in NASA administration, delivered the eulogy for his fellow commander Rick Husband, and the rest of the crew, Mike Anderson, Laurel Clark, Willie McCool, Ilan Ramon, Kalpana Chawla and Dave Brown.
"Dave, K.C., Ilan, Willie, Laurel, Mike, Rick, losing you is one of the hardest blows we've ever suffered, but knowing you was, and will always be, one of our greatest treasures. Thank you for gracing our lives with your love and your friendship," Halsell said.
Also in attendance were NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Robert Crippen, who with John Young first flew Columbia.
Updated 7:24 PM ET February 7, 2003
By Broward Liston
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Investigators have recovered a large piece of one of shuttle Columbia's wings, a significant find in the probe into what downed the doomed spacecraft, a NASA official said on Friday.
Recovered from the Fort Worth, Texas, area, the new fragment of Columbia's wreckage is made of black reinforced material meant to withstand the high temperatures on the shuttle's nose and leading edges of its wings during descent.
"There has been a significant recovery ... we do have a large piece of one of the wings," Michael Kostelnik, head of NASA's shuttle and space station programs, said at a briefing.
NASA said as of late Friday afternoon investigators had not determined if the segment, which included a length of hardened carbon from the leading edge of the wing and about 18 inches of wing structure, came from the left or right wing.
Investigators are looking at a low-resolution image of the shuttle's descent taken from a U.S. Air Force laboratory in the western United States at about the time Columbia crossed the California coast, when the first anomalies were spotted by ground controllers early on Feb. 1.
Minutes after these anomalies were detected, ground controllers lost all contact with the shuttle and soon after that, Columbia disintegrated over Texas, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
NASA made the grainy black-and-white photograph public late on Friday. It showed what might have been an irregularity along the leading edge of the left wing. Flight data showed that sensors began to go off line in the wheel-well and elsewhere on the left wing and shortly before the shuttle disintegrated.
NASA shuttle program manager Ron Dittemore said photo analysts were working with the image and cautioned reporters not to jump to conclusions before that work was done.
"It's not clear that there's something there, yet," he said. "It's not clear if it reveals anything significant at this point. All by itself, I don't think it's very revealing."
Dittemore said the photograph did not suggest whether the event that ultimately led to Columbia's disintegration occurred on lift-off, in orbit or during reentry.
Earlier in the day, Kostelnik said he was not aware of a high-resolution photograph reportedly made by the U.S. Air Force from the ground that showed a ragged edge on the shuttle's left wing.
HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGE
That report from Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine said the high-resolution image indicated serious damage to Columbia's left wing.
Since the disaster occurred, questions have centered on problems with the shuttle's left wing after photos taken some 81 seconds after launch showed a piece of foam insulation falling off the shuttle's external tank and hitting the underside of the left wing.
Citing unnamed sources close to the investigation, the magazine reported that Air Force images show a ragged edge on the left wing near the fuselage and signs the shuttle's right rear engine was working harder to compensate for the damage.
"It is possible, but yet not confirmed, that the impact of foam debris from the shuttle's external tank during launch could have played a role in damage to the wing leading edge, where the deformity appears in USAF imagery," it said.
At Florida's Kennedy Space Center, mourners gathered at landing strip 33, where Columbia had been scheduled to touch down last Saturday, for a memorial service for the fallen astronauts.
Astronaut Jim Halsell, a veteran shuttle commander now working in NASA administration, delivered the eulogy for his fellow commander Rick Husband, and the rest of the crew, Mike Anderson, Laurel Clark, Willie McCool, Ilan Ramon, Kalpana Chawla and Dave Brown.
"Dave, K.C., Ilan, Willie, Laurel, Mike, Rick, losing you is one of the hardest blows we've ever suffered, but knowing you was, and will always be, one of our greatest treasures. Thank you for gracing our lives with your love and your friendship," Halsell said.
Also in attendance were NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Robert Crippen, who with John Young first flew Columbia.