NASA Searches Nev. for Columbia Debris (Radar Tracked Debris Eastern Nevada Near Utah Border)

AP ^ | 2/20/2003 | AP

[TLBSHOW]

NASA Searches Nev. for Columbia Debris

NASA Says Radar Tracked Columbia Debris Falling Into Eastern Nevada Near Utah Border

LAS VEGAS Feb. 20 — NASA said late Thursday that what is believed to be debris from space shuttle Columbia was tracked falling into eastern Nevada by air traffic control radar.

The sheriff in Lincoln County, Nev., said NASA officials requested his department begin searching the rural county near the Utah border.

"They just said they had tracked it by radar and gave us a projected point of impact," Sheriff Dahl Bradfield said.

Imagery, trajectory and ballistics experts have been analyzing video of the shuttle as it streaked across the West on Feb. 1. National Transportation Safety Board officials are using those findings to hunt for any unusual radar trackings in an attempt to pinpoint wreckage.

So far, no shuttle debris has been found farther west than about 20 miles west of Fort Worth, Texas.

Bradfield said a search team would start Friday combing an area about five miles northeast of Panaca, about 170 miles northeast of Las Vegas. He said his department hadn't received much information about the debris, only that it could be as small as 6-inches.

Col. Matt Wallace, commander of the Nevada Wing Civil Air Patrol, said his unit was also asked to help in the search. He said the patrol could provide three to 10 airplanes and possibly ground teams to aid the search.

"We were told to stand by and be ready to go," he said.

The space shuttle Columbia broke apart Feb. 1, minutes before it was scheduled to land in Florida. All seven astronauts on board were killed

[TLBSHOW]

PING

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Ping!!

[Utah Girl]

I heard that people in St George who watched the shuttle said there was something wrong. I hope they can find something to pin down the cause of what happened.

[TLBSHOW]

fyi

[El Gato]

In case anyone is wondering why this took so long to "come out", or even to be discovered, a short explantion of the probable reason is offered. Air Traffic Control "radar" operates in two distinct modes simultaneously. One mode, called secondary, is a beacon system which sends out an "interogation" pulse, to which transponders on aircraft reply. The replies contain not only range information, but also altitude, as measured by systems on board the aircraft, usually the baro altimeter and an ID code. Thus the controller can tell not only that there is an aircraft at a particular location, but which aircraft and how high it is flying. The other mode relies on bouncing a microwave signal off the skin of the aircraft.Usually the responses from the two systems are shown differently on the controllers 'scope. For the most part the controllers use the transponder returns and only scan for skin returns that have no associated transponder return. (i.e. an aircraft with no or an inoperative transponder). The main way the controller's differentiate these skin returns from the invariably present clutter, is through "trails". The display briefly flashes the last few scans of returns leaving the return from the current scan on after the "history" blips are turned off. The ground clutter will rarely form any kind of trail or pattern, while skin returns from a moving aircraft will.

However shuttle debrie and the shuttle itself, would have been moving so much faster than any aircraft that the blips from one scan would be fairly far from those of the next or previous scan, and the controller would very likely not recognize that they formed a trail. Computer analysis, or just an extra careful manual review aided by knowing about where and when to look, could reveal the widely spread "trail" of the shuttle and the debrie. But that would take time, and motivation. The motivation could be frustration, that is lack of evidence, or some of the evidence that we've all heard about indicating stuff falling off well before the shuttle reached Texas. Has anyone read anything new about the "zap" photo taken by the astronomer in California? Has that been released yet?

[TLBSHOW]

Thanks for your informative post and yes I have read about the zap photo but I have not seen it and it isn't out yet.

[Mike Darancette]

Bradfield said a search team would start Friday combing an area about five miles northeast of Panaca,

That is some really rugged and lonely territory.

[TLBSHOW]

and looking for something as small as 6 inches...

[TLBSHOW]

the latest from NASA

[NormsRevenge]

Bump

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Panaca,--- Where is that from Mesquite?

[Jael]

thanks

[TLBSHOW]

His video also shows the space shuttle was having problems as it passed over Utah and that the orbiter was beginning to break up.

http://tv.ksl.com/index.php?sid=8138&nid=8


127 posted on 02/02/2003 1:16 AM EST by TLBSHOW

[TLBSHOW]

Thought you would be interested and wasn't there a poster named foo something that wanted to be kept up with this story too? If you know who I am talking about can you do a ping?

[Jael]

Yes, it's fooman. Thanks for keeping me pinged on these!

[Jael]

Yes, it's fooman. Thanks for keeping me pinged on these!

[TLBSHOW]

ping

[Mike Darancette]

Panaca,--- Where is that from Mesquite?

about 100 miles North off us 93.

[leadpenny]

Thanks. I think people are just beginning to realize that the next shuttle flight may be a long way off. I heard somewhere yesterday that the Russians have indicated they will probably be launching more in support of the ISS.