spacetoday.net: Investigators: orbital debris likely from shuttle

Posted: Wed, Feb 26, 2003, 8:49 AM ET (1349 GMT)
STS-107 patch (NASA)

Members of an independent panel investigating the loss of the space shuttle Columbia now believe that a piece of orbital debris that was tracked by radar trailing the shuttle while in orbit likely came from the shuttle itself. Accident Investigation Board (AIB) members said that it was unlikely the debris results from a collision or close call. Instead, they noted that the debris appeared to separate from the shuttle around the time the shuttle performed a maneuver about one day after launch. This suggests that the object may have been debris from any damage the orbiter incurred during launch, although there is no way to confirm that currently. The AIB also showed photos of a tile piece recovered during the investigation. That tile showed damage far greater than what would come from reentry heating and is consistent with heating by hot gases. The tile also showed some unusual orange flecks; the origin of those flecks is as yet unknown. Searchers have recovered a videotape shot by astronaut Laurel Clark during the reentry, although the tape ends several minutes before the first problems with the reentry were noted. The AIB believes that no more than 20 percent of the orbiter will ever be recovered, because too much either burnt up entirely during reentry or broke into pieces too small to be found or positively identified.