STS-107<br />Report #20 <br />Sunday, February 2, 2003 - 8:30 p.m. CST <br />Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas <br /> <br />Aided by federal and local agencies, NASA stepped up its inquiry into the<br />loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia and its seven astronauts. Multiple<br />investigative teams continue to pore over engineering data in an effort to<br />uncover the cause of the breakup of the orbiter over Texas on Saturday 16<br />minutes from landing.<br /><br />Space Shuttle Program Manager Ron Dittemore told an afternoon briefing that<br />a Mishap Response Team is gathering data from numerous engineering teams in<br />the early stages of the investigation and is receiving assistance from the<br />Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Transportation Safety<br />Board, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and local law enforcement<br />agencies, among others.<br /><br />Dittemore said that as Commander Rick Husband, Pilot William McCool, Mission<br />Specialists Dave Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Mike Anderson, Laurel Clark and<br />Israeli Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon are mourned, the recovery of debris<br />from Columbia and human remains is being coordinated at Barksdale Air Force<br />Base, La. <br /><br />Dittemore thanked residents in the areas where debris fell after Columbia's<br />breakup for cooperating in the recovery effort but cautioned them not to<br />handle debris that could contain toxic substances.<br /><br />Dittemore reconstructed the final minutes of Columbia's flight before<br />communications was lost. He reiterated the failure of four temperature<br />sensors associated with the shuttle's left hand elevons at 7:53 a.m. CST<br />Saturday amidst a 20-30 degree rise in left hand bondline and strut<br />temperatures over a five-minute period near the left wheel well of the<br />orbiter. Columbia was flying over California at the time at an altitude of<br />about 220,000 feet traveling 21 times the speed of sound.<br /><br />One minute later, over the region of eastern California and western Nevada,<br />Columbia's mid-fuselage bondline temperatures above the left wing<br />experienced an unusual temperature increase. It rose 60 degrees over a<br />five-minute period. No such temperature increase was noted on the right side<br />of Columbia or in the Shuttle's cargo bay. Columbia was about 212,000 feet<br />above the Earth, flying at Mach 20.<br /><br />At 7:58 a.m. over New Mexico, telemetry showed a larger than normal drag on<br />the left side of the shuttle, and an indication of an increase in pressure<br />in the left main landing gear tires. Dittemore said the data suggests the<br />tires remained intact. Columbia's altitude was 209,000 feet.<br /><br />At 7:59 a.m. over west Texas, the data showed Columbia continuing to react<br />to an increased drag on its left side, trying to correct the movement by<br />rolling back to the right. Dittemore said the response of the orbiter was<br />well within its capability to handle such maneuvers.<br /><br />At that time, seconds before 8 a.m. CST, all communications was lost with<br />Columbia as it flew at an altitude of 207,000 feet, 18 times the speed of<br />sound.<br /><br />Dittemore indicated that ground computers may contain an additional 32<br />seconds of data which could provide additional information in the analysis<br />of Columbia's breakup.<br /><br />He added that the loss of some foam insulation from Columbia's external fuel<br />tank, which struck the shuttle's left wing about 80 seconds after launch was<br />"inconsequential" based on video imagery review conducted by engineering<br />specialists. However, he said nothing has been ruled out as a possible cause<br />for the accident. <br /><br />Robert Cabana, the Director of Flight Crew Operations at the Johnson Space<br />Center, relayed thanks from the families of the astronauts for the<br />outpouring of support received from around the nation and the world. <br /><br />Cabana said that the Expedition 6 crewmembers aboard the International Space<br />Station are "grieving" for the loss of Columbia's crew, but are in good<br />spirits as they continue human spaceflight and scientific research aboard<br />the orbital outpost. Cabana said Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer<br />Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit are preparing for<br />Tuesday's arrival of a Russian Progress cargo ship. Progress 10 was launched<br />this morning from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. <br /><br /> On Tuesday, Feb. 4, President and Mrs. Bush will join NASA Administrator<br />Sean O'Keefe at the Johnson Space Center to pay tribute to Columbia's<br />astronauts during a special memorial service. The ceremony to honor<br />Columbia's seven crewmembers is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. EST and will be<br />broadcast on NASA Television. The service is not open to the public.<br /><br />The next STS-107 Accident Response briefings are on Monday, Feb. 3 at NASA<br />Headquarters in Washington at 11:30 a.m. EST and at the Johnson Space Center<br />at 4:30 p.m. EST. Status reports will be issued as developments warrant.<br /><br />NASA TV can be found on AMC-2, Transponder 9C, vertical polarization at 85<br />degrees West longitude, 3880 MHz, with audio at 6.8 MHz.