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Coverage continues at Part 5 of our Investigation Journal.
11 March 2003 - Tuesday -
The Columbia investigation continues.
reports:
Tuesday,
the investigation into the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia and the
STS-107 crew continued. In the field, the search for debris pressed ahead,
and the Reconstruction Project Team continued to examine Columbia debris
at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Columbia broke up during re-entry on Feb. 1.
In Houston, Texas, the , or CAIB, held a press
briefing at the Lunar Planetary Institute for Advanced Space Studies.
CAIB board members provided reporters with an update of the investigation.
Also on March 6, the CAIB held a public hearing at the University of Houston -
Clear Lake campus. Board Chairman retired Navy Admiral Harold W. Gehman
Jr. and other board members asked questions of selected individuals,
including Johnson Space Center Director Jefferson D. Howell Jr. and Space
Shuttle Program Manager Ron Dittemore.
In response to a request by Gehman, were named to the investigation board March 5. The
new members are Nobel Prize laureate in physics Douglas Osheroff, former
NASA astronaut and physicist Dr. Sally Ride and George Washington
University Space Policy Institute Director Dr. John Logsdon.
As of March 5, NASA had received 6,541 still images and 34 videos relating to
Columbia -- including re-entry, debris, etc. -- from the public and the media.
07 March 2003 - Friday -
on the
ongoing investigation. Columbia debris is being
for analysis (not like rebuilding it, just arranging the
wreckage to see if any patterns are visible).
reports:
The investigation into the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia and its crew
continued this past week. Friday, searchers were looking for debris in Texas.
Thursday, officials announced that more than 103,000 acres have been searched. The
search for debris is being coordinated by the Federal Emergency Agency.
Also, check out the list of
in the southwestern United States that may contain shuttle debris.
View a
to the Columbia crew or download the memorial for
viewing later from KSC's . To view other memorial service and press conference videos, go
to KSC's .
Additional information on the Columbia accident investigation is located
on the .
On March 11,
the CAIB will hold a press briefing at [2PM EST/1900 GMT] at the Lunar
Planetary Institute for Advanced Space Studies in Houston, Texas.
Payload Commander
was
at
National Cemetery. Rest In Peace...
06 March 2003 - Thursday - At the today,
Board members NASA
on
and
of the
. Sean O'Keefe
said that NASA is in
of losing their best
through
.
reports:
The Columbia Accident Investigation Board held a public hearing
Thursday at the University of Houston - Clear Lake campus. Board Chairman
retired Navy Admiral Harold W. Gehman Jr. and other board members asked
questions of selected individuals, including Johnson Space Center Director
Jefferson D. Howell Jr. and Space Shuttle Program Manager Ron Dittemore.
In response to a request by Gehman,
were named to the investigation board Wednesday. The new members are Nobel
Prize laureate in physics Douglas Osheroff, former NASA astronaut and
physicist Dr. Sally Ride and George Washington University Space Policy
Institute Director Dr. John Logsdon.
As of Wednesday, NASA had received 6,541 still images and 34
videos relating to Columbia -- including re-entry, debris, etc. -- from
the public and the media.
See from
the
. The
will be held on Tuesday, March 11th, at 2PM EST (1900 GMT).
05 March 2003 - Wednesday - The
for
in the Columbia disaster
goes on. All of the tires have been recovered, and the
difference in the
and
tires indicates that
. Was that the cause or the effect of some other
event? Some of the search teams are
from handling Shuttle debris.
reports:
Nobel
Prize laureate in Physics Douglas Osheroff; former NASA astronaut and
physicist Dr. Sally Ride; and George Washington University Space Policy Insitute Director Dr. John Logsdon will join the Board effort. Michael
Bloomfield will serve as Astronaut Advisor, replacing Bryan O'Conner as
staff support.
News media representatives are invited to document Columbia debris
recovery team activities in Lufkin, Texas on Friday, March 7.
Read a from the Columbia crew families. View the
and
. Visit the
.
Were taken in the production of
?
04 March 2003 - Tuesday - The
investigation
.
Was
a factor in the disaster? NASA
a bid to replace some
on the investigation team.
reports:
In
a briefing Tuesday, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board
updated reporters on the progress of the inquiry into the loss of Space
Shuttle Columbia and its seven-member crew on Feb. 1. The board’s
chairman, retired Adm. Harold W. “Hal” Gehman Jr., said that the past week
has been a good one for the investigation. He was joined by three members,
each representing one of the board’s three groups.
The investigation board will hold a
Thursday from [11AM to 3PM EST/1600 to 2100 GMT] at the
Bayou Theatre on the University of Houston - Clear Lake campus. Gehman and
other members will hear from individuals who have been asked to appear
before the board to answer questions about the NASA Space Shuttle program.
will provide coverage for most of the event. NASA TV will cut away from
the hearing from [12:45 to 1:15PM EST/1745 to 1815 GMT] to air a
previously scheduled International Space Station education event.
In the search for debris, the accident investigation board
reported that 22,563 pieces have been found, with 16,063 being identified
as of Tuesday. The found debris weighs 14,560 kilograms (32,100 pounds),
which is about 13.7 percent of the shuttle’s original weight.
Tuesday in Texas, 39 ground search crews deployed from Nacogdoches,
35 from Hemphill, 34 from Palestine and 50 from Corsicana. Once again, low ceilings kept
search aircraft grounded. In California, a search of the coastline north
of Columbia’s re-entry track did not yield any debris. Poor weather
continues to delay the search in Nevada and New Mexico.
JSC Media Roundtable Transcript
JSC flight engineers Bob Doremus and Jeff Kling discussed e-mails they
exchanged with colleagues during Columbia's mission. Roundtable held at
the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas on Feb. 26.
(306 Kb)
A Letter From The Columbia Crew Families
The Columbia crew families express gratitude for overwhelming public
support. Charitable funds are now available for contributions.
Here's some more sources for the Columbia crew-cabin video:
03 March 2003 - Monday - The
continues,
as NASA seeks
to the .
Were
taken during the
of the
Shuttle's
, causing
to strike the
as it ? Could
have affected the flight? Over the weekend, the
announced
, and on Friday,
NASA
a piece of
shot inside Columbia's cabin before the
accident.
reports:
The Columbia Accident Investigation Board announced that it will hold a
Tuesday at [2PM EST/1900 GMT] and a
from [11AM to 4PM EST/1600 to 2100 GMT] Thursday. The
press briefing will will take place at the Lunar and Planetary Institute
in Houston, Texas, and the public hearing will be held at the University
of Houston - Clear Lake. Tuesday's press briefing will be carried on
.
In the field, searchers continue to recover material from the
Space Shuttle Columbia, including thermal protection tiles, structural
parts and communications equipment. Monday in Texas, 39 ground search
crews deployed from Nacogdoches, 35 from Hemphill, 34 from Palestine and
50 from Corsicana -- low ceilings kept all aircraft on the ground Monday.
Nacogdoches
crews have collected about 1,200 pieces of
suspected shuttle debris after searching nearly 3,000 acres in the Texas
counties of Cherokee and Nacogdoches. The Hemphill crews have found 60
pieces in 1,800 acres in Sabine County. Palestine crews have found 177
pieces in 2,575 acres in Anderson and Cherokee Counties. Corsicana crews
have found 214 pieces after searching 2,500 acres in Navarro County.
Dive teams led by the U.S. Navy continued their search efforts
in Toledo Bend reservoir and Lake Nacogdoches, refining techniques for
finding shuttle items using sonars and trained divers.
No confirmed pieces of shuttle material have been found along
the California coast, though volunteers continue to look for any evidence
of debris that might have fallen in the ocean and drifted to shore as
Columbia continued its journey eastward on Feb. 1. Weather continued to
postpone search activities in Nevada and New Mexico.
Correspondence between NASA Administrator and Columbia Accident Investigation Board Chairman
Admiral Gehman requests change of personnel on Columbia investigation
team in letter dated Feb. 25, 2003. Administrator O'Keefe offers
additional personnel from outside the Shuttle program to work with the
Board in letter dated Feb. 28.
in Acrobat PDF ( 143 Kb)
in Acrobat PDF (125 Kb)
Also, it was announced today that
to the
(Soyuz TMA-3) will carry the
astronaut
bumped from May's flight (, who
on ) and most likely a two-man Expedition 8 crew.
would
return with the Expedition 7 crew. Expedition 6, currently aboard the
, has reached their
100-day mark in space. Will Russia be able to
with the
?
01 March 2003 - Saturday - , though it
ended in tragedy, was a not a total loss.
reports:
Accident
investigators are not the only people studying data from Space
Shuttle Columbia. Throughout the 16-day science flight, the crew
downlinked video and data from many experiments to researchers on Earth in
real time. Those experiment results are providing a wealth of information
to scientists involved in the mission.
David Liskowsky of NASA's Office of Biological and Physical
Research said, "For those experiments that received downlinked data during
the mission, we estimate that anywhere between 50 to 90 percent of the
data was acquired."
More than 80 experiments flew aboard Columbia during STS-107,
including investigations into life sciences, combustion research, material
sciences and fluid physics. Most of the life science experiments included
specimen samples that were lost in the accident, but many of the other
experiment results were downlinked during the mission.
Among the scientific successes of STS-107 were the six
experiments of the , or STARS, program. The
student-designed experiments downlinked video and data to the researchers
every day, and an estimated 70 percent of the scientific objectives were
achieved.
-
-
For earlier reports, see Part 3 of our Investigation Journal.
