spacetoday.net: Shuttle debris spread over large area

Posted: Sat, Feb 1, 2003, 10:30 PM ET (0330 GMT)
STS-107: shuttle breakup during reentry (CNN)

Debris from the disintegration of the space shuttle Columbia has been found over a wide area of eastern Texas and western Louisiana. Reports from local and national media indicate that debris has been found over a line extending several hundred kilometers, from near the Dallas/Fort Worth area southeast to near Lafayette in south-central Louisiana. Searchers have found mostly small pieces of debris, including objects that appear to be engine nozzles and tiles. Texas officials said that a larger object, about the size of a small vehicle, may have fallen into the Toledo Bend Reservoir on the Texas-Louisiana border; divers will look for the object on Sunday. The falling debris has apparently caused only minor damage to homes and other buildings. While there are no reports of people on the ground injured from falling debris, a handful of people have been hospitalized with burns or respiratory problems related to touching or breathing fumes from debris. There are reports that officials have found what may be remains from one or more crew members near Hemphill, Texas, a town near the Louisiana border. The accident also left a cloud of microscopic particles that lingered in the atmosphere for hours and were visible on weather radar images of the region as a streak that roughly followed the flight path of the shuttle. The FAA issued a notice to airmen Saturday afternoon as the cloud drifted southeast towards the coast of the Gulf of Mexico because the cloud could cause a sharp drop in visibility. NASA officials urge people not to handle any debris but instead to report it to NASA or local law enforcement.