spacetoday.net: CAIB recommends on-board imaging during shuttle launches

Posted: Thu, Jul 31, 2003, 8:11 PM ET (0011 GMT)
STS-107 patch (NASA)

The Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) issued a recommendation Wednesday calling on NASA to develop ways to take images of the shuttle and external tank during its ascent to orbit. The recommendation, the fifth interim recommendation issued by the CAIB, said that NASA should find ways to obtain and downlink high-resolution images of the leading edge of the shuttle wings during launch, as well as of the external tank after it separates from the orbiter. The images, the board concluded, would provide engineers with critical data that would allow them to identify any missing foam from the tank or damage to the leading edge of the shuttle's wings. The CAIB is still planning to issue its final report in late August.