spacetoday.net: Investigators believe wing leading edge site of breach

Posted: Wed, Feb 19, 2003, 1:59 PM ET (1859 GMT)
STS-107 patch (NASA)

The independent panel investigating the loss of the space shuttle Columbia said Tuesday that they believe that the leading edge of the left wing is the most likely location where hot gas penetrated the shuttle, leading to the loss of the orbiter. Members of the Accident Investigation Board (AIB) said Tuesday that the best explanation for the telemetry received from the orbiter in the minutes leading up to the catastrophe was a small breach in the left leading edge, allowing superheated plasma to get inside the orbiter. The AIB believes this is a more likely explanation than a hole in the left wing landing gear door. Investigators said they believe eyewitness accounts from observers in California who claimed to have seen debris trailing the shuttle as it flew overhead several minutes before the breakup; searches for debris continue in California and Nevada although nothing has been found to date west of Fort Worth, Texas. The AIB said it has not ruled out any cause in its investigation, including foam or other debris from the external tank striking the orbiter during launch or impact with space debris or a micrometeoroid while in orbit. The AIB is also considering whether some kind of electrostatic discharge in the atmosphere during reentry damaged the shuttle, based on photographic evidence from California, but investigators said they consider that a less likely cause for the accident.