spacetoday.net: Investigators find Columbia left wing debris

Posted: Tue, Feb 11, 2003, 7:18 AM ET (1218 GMT)
STS-107 patch (NASA)

Searchers in east Texas have found a piece of debris from the shuttle Columbia's left wing, a discovery that could significantly aid the investigation. The debris, found Friday southeast of Fort Worth but not positively identified until Monday, includes a 0.6-meter segment of the wing's carbon-carbon leading edge and a 0.45-meter segment of the wing itself. The debris may help investigators determine what happened to the left wing during reentry that led to the breakup of the orbiter. Recovery teams also found debris that was initially identified as one of the shuttle's four main computers, but later reported to more likely be an avionics box. The first portion of the debris recovered to date is expected to arrive at the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, where investigators will use a vacant hangar to study the debris.