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Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2003

The tiles on the left wing are a key focus of the investigation into the disintegration of the shuttle as it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere Saturday, 16 minutes before scheduled landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The seven astronauts aboard were killed.

MSNBC News reported Monday that a NASA memo from Jan. 28 concluded that foam debris striking the shuttle during its Jan. 16 launch probably had caused damage covering an area 7 by 30 inches, but that NASA engineers had concluded the shuttle remained safe to fly. Jan. 28 was four days before the shuttle broke apart 39 miles above the planet.

Michael Kostelnik, NASA deputy associate administrator, was asked about the memo during a news conference. He said he was unaware of the specific memo but would check into it.

"The best and brightest engineers we have who helped design and build this system looked carefully at all the analysis and the information we had at this time and made a determination this was not a safety-of-flight issue," he said.

He said the engineers thought there could have been some damage to the heat protection system, "but they did not consider this was a safety-of-flight [issue]."

Bill Readdy, NASA associate administrator, said engineers on Jan. 28, the 12th day of the mission, had evaluated possible damage but concluded the shuttle was safe to fly.

"On the 12th day of the mission, the mission evaluation was that these thermal analyses indicate possible localized structural damage but no burn-through and no safety of flight issue," he said. He did not mention the size of any damaged area.

Readdy said investigators would go back and review the data.

"During the flight we did assess it and came to the conclusion that whereas there might be localized structural damage or a turnaround issue for the next flight, that it was no safety-of-flight issue."

Even if there had been a safety issue, NASA officials said earlier, there would have been no way for astronauts to repair it.

NASA shuttle program manager Ron Dittemore said Sunday that data from the shuttle showed increasing temperatures on the fuselage near the left wing and in the left wheel well before data was lost. Data also showed increasing drag on the left side two minutes before contact was lost.

Kostelnik and Readdy said they saw daily evaluation reports during the mission and were included in teleconferences with engineers.

Readdy told reporters NASA urged anyone with documentation about the disaster to turn it over to investigators.

"We want to get every last shred of evidence," he said, "and put that into pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that we will start to assemble so we can identify the root cause."

Kostelnik said NASA's main focus was on the families of the astronauts. "We're trying to recover the remains of these national heroes and get them back to their families as fast as possible," he said.

Families: 'Exploration Must Go On'

Readdy then read a statement issued by the families of the seven astronauts.

"On Jan. 16, we saw our loved ones launch into a brilliant, cloud-free sky. Their hearts were full of enthusiasm, pride in country, faith in their God, and a willingness to accept the risk in pursuit of knowledge - knowledge that might improve the quality of life for all mankind. Columbia's 16-day mission of scientific discovery, which was a great success, was cut short by mere minutes, yet it will live on forever in our memories.

"We want to thank the NASA family and people from around the world for their incredible outpouring of love and support, and although we grieve deeply, as do the famillies of Apollo I and Challenger before us, the bold exploration of space must go on. Once the root cause of this tragedy is found and corrected, the legacy of Columbia must carry on for the benefit of our children and yours."

Kostelnik said the debris field from the shuttle breakup extended further west in Texas than originally thought. A second NASA center was being set up at Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, in addition to one set up earlier at Barksdale Air Force Base near Shreveport, La.

An external investigation team, led by retired Navy Adm. Harold Gehman Jr., was working out of Barksdale.

He said a NASA team of about 100 people, working in Texas to secure debris, would be augmented by about another 55 to 60 and assisted by about 500 Texas National Guardsmen. No decision has been made where the debris would be taken for reassembly, he said.

Kostelnik said the investigation would be open to public scrutiny.

"We will be incredibly open so you can see exactly what we are doing," he said.

He said NASA officials planned daily briefings at 11:30 a.m. EST in Washington (except today, when a memorial service is planned at Johnson Space Center in Houston), and at 4:30 p.m. EST at Johnson Space Center.

Asked what impact the loss of the shuttle Columbia would have on the International Space Station, Kostelnik said the station, scheduled to be provisioned today by a recently launched Russian Prospect vehicle, was sustainable without the shuttle.

"The operation and architecture up there now is sustainable," he said, adding that another Russian mission to the station was planned in April and a reboost of the station to keep it in proper orbit would not be needed for another year and could be done with Russian space vehicles.

The question of how soon the three remaining shuttles could return to orbit could have an impact on the assembly timetable.

Asked whether budget pressures affected the shuttle program, particularly safety, Kostelnik said they did not.

"Safety has not been driven by investment or funds," he said.

Kostelnik told reporters that President Bush met with NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe at the White House on Monday.

At the afternoon White House briefing, spokesman Ari Fleischer said the president was briefed on progress of the investigation. Asked whether the administration would ask for Congress for construction of a replacement shuttle, Fleischer said it was too soon to say, but added: "The president is committed to the exploration of space."

At a later speech at the National Institutes of Health, Bush said, "America's journey into space will go on."

Copyright 2003 by United Press International.

All rights reserved.

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