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STS-107 Mishap Response Status Report #9
Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2003 - 5 p.m. CST

The investigation into the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia is 
increasing in depth as well as breadth, retired Adm. Harold W. "Hal" 
Gehman, chairman of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, said 
this afternoon. "Our commitment and resolve to get to the bottom of 
this is undiminished."

Gehman and three other members of the CAIB, Air Force Brig. Gen. Duane 
W.  Deal, Air Force Maj. Gen. Kenneth W. Hess and NASA Ames Research 
Center director Scott Hubbard, spoke at a news conference at Johnson 
Space Center.

Gehman showed photos of a piece of Columbia heat-resistant tile found 
just west of Fort Worth, Texas.  The tile had grooves in the ends of 
its bottom side and orange-colored deposits on its outward-facing 
surface. Gehman said the tile had sustained extreme heat damage. "This 
is not re-entry heat damage," he said. It remains to be determined, he 
added, how the damage to the tile occurred, as well as when and how 
the orange material was deposited.

He also talked about the western-most find of Shuttle debris to date, 
a piece of tile found about 40 miles northwest of Lubbock, Texas. He 
said the tile is believed to be from the upper surface of the left 
wing, near its attachment to the fuselage.

Deal, part of a group looking at material, maintenance and management 
issues for the board, said the CAIB is looking for a cause, in part 
through a process of elimination.  "Our duty is to examine everything 
objectively," he said. 

Board members were asked about the object observed on radar moving 
away from the orbiting Shuttle on Jan. 17 and re-entering the 
atmosphere three days later over the South Pacific. Board members 
described it as a lightweight material, about 1 foot by 1 foot in 
size. An extensive analysis of radar data that began after the 
Columbia accident led to the discovery of the object on Feb. 6.  That 
analysis is continuing in an effort to determine the identity of the 
object.

Hess said the board would compare STS-107 with other Columbia 
re-entries. He said some commanders have reported wing roughness, 
while others didn't notice. Gehman said the board is looking carefully 
at weather at re-entry on Feb. 1, which he said was "in general, a 
particularly calm and benign environment."

In response to a question, Gehman said the board is looking very 
carefully, "from a dozen points of view," at the three Boeing analyses 
of possible tile damage from foam insulation from the external tank.  
No conclusions have been reached, he said.  .  "The data and twisted 
metal are speaking to us," Hubbard said. "We're just developing ears 
to hear."

Gehman said debris continues to come in, and continues to be very 
important to the investigation.  In terms of weight, approximately 10 
percent of the orbiter has been recovered, he said.

Texas weather Tuesday hampered the search for debris as rain and cold
temperatures swept through the area. Teams based in Nacogdoches and 
Hemphill searched throughout the day. Ice kept search teams based in 
Corsicana in camp Tuesday, while teams from Palestine searched for 
half a day. 

Low ceilings at mid-day kept search aircraft on the ground. Navy dive 
teams at Toledo Bend Reservoir began operations about noon. More than 
4,000 searchers and support personnel from 38 states were in the area 
Tuesday, focusing on the 10- by 240-mile area from south of Dallas to 
Toledo Bend. No confirmed Columbia debris has been found west of the 
Littlefield, Texas area.

Finds reported during the past two days include a number of Shuttle 
tiles, and what appeared to be a panel from the lower surface of the 
right wing and a piece of the lower forward fuselage of Columbia. 

The effort to consolidate three search coordination field offices, 
Barksdale AFB, La., the Joint Reserve Base (Carswell Field), Texas and 
Hemphill, Texas, into the main facility at Lufkin, Texas, should be 
completed this week. 

For more information about board activities on the Internet visit the 
CAIB's new website:              www.caib.us

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