spacetoday.net: Report: Air Force camera saw shuttle damage during reentry

Posted: Fri, Feb 7, 2003, 10:46 AM ET (1546 GMT)
STS-107 patch (NASA)

Images from a powerful Air Force tracking camera show damage to the leading edge of the shuttle Columbia's left wing one minute before the orbiter broke apart, according to a published report. The Aviation Week and Space Technology article, published online by Spaceflight Now, stated that a high-powered Air Force tracking camera located on the ground in the southwestern US was able to resolve a "jagged edge" on the leading portion of the left wing, near where the wing joins the fuselage. The images suggest that the reinforced carbon-carbon material on the leading edge was damaged some time earlier, due to an impact by foam, ice, or other debris during launch or while in orbit. NASA investigators said Thursday that they are not ruling out that foam could have caused the damage, just a day after saying they thought foam damage was unlikely. Searches continue to look for debris both in the main impact field in east Texas as well as points west, although no critical "red flag" items have been found yet, and no debris has been positively identified west of Texas.