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STS-107 Mishap Response Status Report #3
Thursday, Feb. 13, 2003 - 7 p.m. CST

The Columbia Accident Investigation Board said today preliminary 
analysis by a NASA working group indicates the temperature indications 
seen in Columbia's left wheel well during entry would require the 
presence of plasma. Plasma is a super heated gas sur rounding the 
orbiter during re-entry.

The CAIB said heat transfer through the structure, as from a missing 
tile, would not be sufficient to cause the temperature indications 
seen in the last minutes of flight. Additional analysis is under way, 
looking at various scenarios in which a breach o f some type could 
occur, allowing plasma into the wheel well area or elsewhere in the 
wing.

Other flight data, including landing gear position indicators and drag 
information, indicate it is unlikely the left landing gear was 
deployed early, the CAIB said.

The search continues in the western United States for debris from 
Columbia. As of early Thursday, no debris found farther west than 
Granbury, Texas, about 40 miles southwest of Fort Worth, had been 
confirmed as Shuttle-related. The first two trucks conta ining debris 
from Columbia arrived at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Fla. Wednesday 
morning.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reported today the 
Shuttle debris recovery operation is proceeding well. FEMA said 72 
percent of sites in Texas and 84 percent of sites in Louisiana have 
been cleared.

The Environmental Protection Agency has 42 teams conducting operations 
in five Texas counties. Searches are focused on large structural 
items, and a plan is being developed to support expanded searches in 
areas where NASA-identified critical items have b een found.

The Civil Air Patrol is expanding operations west of Fort Worth, and 
negotiations are under way to bring in a blimp to help search in the 
area from Fort Worth east to Palestine, Texas. The Navy is taking 
control of water operations, with dive teams and e quipment arriving 
today. Searches will focus first on the Toledo Bend Reservoir and then 
turn to other lakes in the affected area.

The CAIB spent its second day visiting KSC. The trip's purpose is to 
familiarize members with operations at the center from which Columbia 
was launched Jan. 16.

On Friday the board is scheduled to visit the Marshall Space Flight 
Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Ala. On Saturday members are scheduled to 
visit the Michoud, La., facility near New Orleans where Shuttle 
external tanks are fabricated, before returning to Houston Saturday 
night.

Leroy Cain, the Space Shuttle entry flight director on Feb. 1, will 
hold a press conference at 3:30 p.m. EST Friday. It will be carried 
live on NASA Television. Before that press conference, NASA-TV will 
carry a videotape of events inside the Shuttle Fli ght Control Room on 
Feb. 1. The video will be shown beginning at noon and 3 p.m. EST.

For more information about NASA on the Internet, see:
www.nasa.gov

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