Images From Air Force Show Damage to Shuttle's Wing
NewsMax.com Wires
Saturday, Feb. 8, 2003
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – An Air Force camera imaged severe structural damage to Columbia's left wing a minute before the shuttle broke up over Texas on Saturday, killing its seven-member crew, a highly credible trade publication is reporting in its Feb. 10 issue.
Instrument data from the final minutes of Columbia's flight show the shuttle was trying to correct for an unexplained drag on its left wing. Several sensors registered heat spikes on the left side, and other sensors located nearby stopped working entirely.
The images, reported by Aviation Week and Space Technology, could help explain the puzzling readings.
"According to sources close to the investigation, the images, under analysis at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, show a jagged edge on the left inboard wing structure near where the wing begins to intersect the fuselage," the magazine said.
"They also show the orbiter's right aft yaw thrusters firing, trying to correct the vehicle's attitude that was being adversely affected by the left wing damage. Columbia's fuselage and right wing appear normal. Unlike the damaged and jagged left wing section, the right wing appears smooth along its entire length. The imagery is consistent with telemetry," the report states.
What caused the wing damage is not known. A crack or damaged heat shielding are among the possibilities NASA is considering.
Whatever the cause, "the damage affected the vehicle's flying qualities as well as allowed hot gases to flow into critical wing structure - a fatal combination," the magazine reports.
Copyright 2003 by United Press International.
All rights reserved.
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