spacetoday.net: Columbia data recorder recovered

Posted: Thu, Mar 20, 2003, 10:41 AM ET (1541 GMT)
STS-107 patch (NASA)

Searchers have found a data recorder from the shuttle Columbia that could provide key data about the shuttle in its final minutes. The orbital experiments recorder (OEX) was found in relatively good condition near Hemphill, Texas, by teams looking for debris from the shuttle. Investigators do not yet know if any data can be salvaged from the recorder. If it can, it could offer critical information about the shuttle during reentry. The OEX is designed to record conditions such as temperature, vibration, and pressure during reentry. Columbia is the only shuttle with an OEX, which was installed on the orbiter to provide engineers with insights about reentry conditions during the early shuttle flights. In a related story, NASA administrator Sean O’Keefe told a meeting of the NASA Advisory Council at the Stennis Space Center that a single definitive cause for the shuttle accident may never be found, given limited information. The Associated Press reported that he said it would most likely be a combination of hardware problems, failures of processes and procedures, and bad judgment calls.