[bonesmccoy]

Gee... are you serious?

We've been saying that the numbers looked like the MLG door was down at 57:30 or so.

We'll see what they say.

I'm betting that the MLG door was down, but XBob still may be correct regarding loss of the RCC/LH Wing leading edge structure.

I disagree with his assessment of the LH wing glove being missing and have been stating so.

Regretably, I do not have the graphics programs to manipulate the USAF photo and the tile diagram.

Hopefully I can locate a 3-D model for the orbiter and see if the MLG door could be open in the photo at the angle suggested by XBob.

XBob says the orbiter is overhead.

I was thinking not. The orbiter must be at a specific angle to the horizon... 45-50 degrees?

[XBob]

1590 - "XBob says the orbiter is overhead. "

The orbiter flight path passed overhead of the camera. For it to be exactly overhead at the moment of the picture would be a miracle.

The camera was not like looking from Los Angeles at the orbiter passing over San Francisco. It was lookng at a basically direct overhead pass.

spunkets earlier (around 1225-1250) did a very interesting analysis and drawing, indicatiting that the bird was flying skewed at about 11 degrees off longitudinal from it's trajectory.