Posted on 03/18/2003 7:20:33 AM PST by TLBSHOW
Shuttle began to fall apart while over the Pacific Ocean
HOUSTON -- Shuttle Columbia most likely was losing pieces long before it made landfall over California on Feb. 1, yet continued to "fly like a champ" right until its break-up over Central Texas.
At a public hearing Monday, NASA flight director Paul Hill said he was surprised the orbiter maintained control for as long as it did.
Right until the end, "the vehicle flew perfectly, there was no indication of what was going on in flight control," said Hill, who is in charge of a team investigating early sightings of debris.
Members of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, who convened the hearing, said the orbiter was breaking apart well before amateur videographers captured debris events.
"It's clear to me that things must have been falling off the vehicle over the ocean," said Sheila Widnall, a board member and aerodynamics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
(Excerpt) Read more at orlandosentinel.com ...
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