Astronauts knew of wing damage

national | miscellaneous | news report Thursday February 06, 2003 02:06 by Irene Brown

NASA might not have told them even if Mission Control knew

NASA also is evaluating a photograph taken from an amateur photographer in California that shows a mysterious purple electrical bolt striking the orbiter over California.

Astronauts knew of wing damage
By Irene Brown
UPI Science News
From the Science & Technology Desk
Published 2/5/2003 2:26 PM
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Feb. 5 (UPI) -- The remains of the shuttle Columbia astronauts were scheduled to be flown to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday, as NASA managers struggled with questions about what the astronauts knew about their ill-fated flight.

The leading theory of what doomed Columbia 16 minutes before its planned touchdown in Florida is that a critical portion of the ship's heat-resistant tiles was damaged 80 seconds after launch by a piece of what engineers think is foam insulation falling off the shuttle's external fuel tank. The debris hit was noted the day after Columbia's Jan. 16 liftoff during analysis of launch video.

"The crew knew there was potential impact damage," NASA's deputy associate administrator for spaceflight Michael Kostelnik said at a news briefing.

However, engineering analysis, which was passed along to the crew daily, concluded the damage would not be a safety of flight issue. Even if it had, the question is whether NASA would have spelled that out to the crew.

In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, an unnamed participant at NASA's internal briefings said, "Maybe they felt it was the only conclusion they could reach because otherwise, what could they do? Do you tell the crew their vehicle might break up?"

NASA has no ability to repair tile damage while the shuttle is in orbit and has no contingency plans for a spacewalk to the underside of the ship. Shuttle program manager Ron Dittemore said spacewalking astronauts likely would cause even more damage to the delicate structures if they did. Also, the shuttle had no power or equipment to change orbit and, for example, seek a safe haven aboard the International Space Station, he added.

Sen. George Allen, R-Va., said in a televised speech on Tuesday that the brother of Columbia astronaut David Brown disclosed receiving an e-mail from orbit that conveyed the crew's "concern" about the left wing, the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch reported in Wednesday's paper. According to the report, the senator said Doug Brown, who lives in Virgina, told him his brother's e-mail said the crew had taken a photo of the left wing.

Kostelnik, however, said from inside the crew cabin the astronauts would not have been in a position to see the underside of the wing and the crew's e-mails to family members and friends were private. He hastened to add, however, the NASA-appointed board investigating the disaster would welcome any communications from the crew families relevant to the ongoing probe.

Though NASA currently is trying to understand how the debris impact could have triggered the loss of the vehicle, other theories about the spaceship's demise -- including an orbital debris hit -- have not been ruled out.

NASA also is evaluating a photograph taken from an amateur photographer in California that shows a mysterious purple electrical bolt striking the orbiter over California, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Another observer in Arizona videotaped what appears to be a small white object falling off the shuttle as it flew over Arizona.

NASA lost all tracking and communications with Columbia minutes later over Texas.

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