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'Columbia' inquiry says hull breach was most likely cause

Andrew Gumbel
Saturday 15 February 2003 01:00 GMT
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Investigators into the Columbia space shuttle disaster have concluded that a hole in the craft's aluminium skin, almost certainly caused by a piece of insulation foam that was dislodged during lift-off, led to the fatal explosion over Texas two weeks ago.

According to the latest findings by the accident investigating board, the breach allowed plasma – the technical term for super-heated air surrounding the craft on re-entry into the earth's atmosphere – to enter the left wing and wheel well. This would have set off a devastating chain reaction, leaving the seven astronautswith no chance of survival.

It has since emerged that a Nasa engineer sent an e-mail two days before the disaster, raising the possibility that the insulation foam incident during take-off could have exposed Columbia to a "world of hurt" on re-entry.

The engineer, Robert Daugherty, urged Nasa to run simulation tests and, if necessary, make contingency arrangements for returning the astronauts to earth. His e-mail laid out a similar possible sequence of events to those that actually transpired – the failure of a number of sensors in the left wing and a blow-out in the wheel well. But Mr Daugherty's memo was not opened until after the accident.

Officials briefing the media on the latest findings made no reference to Mr Daugherty, whose e-mail was published by the Los Angeles Times. Nor did they confirm that the breach in the shuttle was caused by the insulation foam.

They said they were still unsure whether the breach occurred on the leading edge of the left wing, or in a 136kg (300lb) landing gear door. Nevertheless, the latest findings indicate that Columbia showed the first signs of trouble earlier than previously thought, while it was still over the Pacific and before entering US airspace.

Nasa appealed to the public for any photographs or videotapes of Columbia's descent. Some people have already have handed over images, "but more material will help the investigation", the agency said.

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