STS-107 MCC Status Report #22; Tuesday, February 4, 2003 - 8:00 p.m. CST

As NASA paused to pay tribute to Columbia's astronauts, the agency reported making "considerable progress" in recovering debris from the Space Shuttle and analyzing data in the search for clues to what caused the orbiter to breakup 16 minutes before its landing last Saturday.

President and Mrs. Bush joined NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe in honoring astronauts Rick Husband, William McCool, Dave Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Mike Anderson, Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon in a ceremony at the Johnson Space Center, Houston. President Bush said the nation was "blessed" to have such men and women serving the space program, and although NASA is being tested at this time, "America's space program will go on."

In an afternoon briefing, Michael Kostelnik, NASA's Associate Administrator for International Space Station and Space Shuttle said several engineering teams continue to work round-the-clock to reconstruct the timeline of the final minutes of Columbia's flight from extensive data that is being analyzed...

Kostelnik (right) reported that larger and denser pieces of debris have been found in Louisiana, possibly including parts of Columbia's main engines. He said recovery teams have been dispatched to California and Arizona, where debris has been reported. Kostelnik indicated debris recovered from areas farthest to the west would be critical, possibly providing information about the early stages of Columbia's breakup...

Asked about contingency planning for the Station for the rest of the year, Kostelnik said all options to sustain a human presence on board in the temporary absence of Shuttle flights are being explored. The next Shuttle flight aboard Atlantis in March was to have brought the Expedition 7 crew to the ISS and returned to Earth the current resident crew.

STS-107 MCC Status Report #23; Wednesday, February 5, 2003 - 7:00 p.m. CST

The search for clues about what caused Columbia's breakup during reentry Saturday, and the hunt for key debris from the orbiter, expanded today with recovery teams deployed in California and Arizona.

Four days after Columbia broke apart 16 minutes prior to landing, Space Shuttle Program Manager Ron Dittemore said the inquiry into the cause for Columbia's demise is "picking up speed". But Dittemore said efforts to draw any new information from an additional 32 seconds of data acquired by ground computers following the loss of voice communications with Columbia have so far been unsuccessful.

In a briefing, Dittemore said the engineering evaluation teams are focusing their attention on "something other" than insulating foam on Columbia's external tank that fell off 80 seconds after launch striking the left wing, as the reason for the accident.

"It does not make sense that a piece of (foam) debris caused the loss of Columbia and its crew," Dittemore added. He reiterated Columbia tried to compensate for increased drag on its left wing in the seconds prior to its breakup, firing steering jets to right itself. But Dittemore said of Columbia, "It was doing well, but it was losing the battle."

As the engineering analysis continued, the remains of Columbia's astronauts were flown to Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, where identification of the astronauts will be completed. At the conclusion of the forensic analysis, the remains will be released to the families for burial...

Kostelnik said that although a relatively small percentage of Shuttle debris has been recovered so far, segments of large components such as Columbia's nose cone and main engines have been found. The focus of the recovery effort and the data analysis, according to Kostelnik, continues to be Columbia's left wing area, although no element of the orbiter has been exonerated in the ongoing inquiry.

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 6 Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit spent the day unloading the Russian Progress resupply ship that docked to the ISS Tuesday, carrying one ton of food, fuel and supplies.

Pettit unstowed replacement parts for the Microgravity Science Glovebox from the Progress and installed them in the facility in the Destiny laboratory in an effort to revive the Glovebox that has been dormant since November following a power failure.

Pettit powered up the Glovebox, but a circuit breaker in the system popped and payload controllers told Pettit to shut it down so they can evaluate its current status.

FMI: www.spaceflight.nasa.gov