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Columbia investigators work complex puzzle 03/06/2003 Associated Press HOUSTON - In the first public hearing of the Columbia investigation board, NASA officials defended decisions that gave private contractors much of the direct responsibility for maintaining and operating the space shuttle. Seven members of the board, searching for the cause of the shuttle's breakup, questioned space shuttle program manager Ron Dittemore and Johnson Space Center Director Jefferson Davis Howell about NASA's policies that shifted much of the responsibility for fixing and flying the shuttle to private contractors. Both Howell and Dittemore said safety has not been compromised and remains the...

Amarillo honors Columbia commander 1,000 attend hometown tribute to man who reached for the stars 02/22/2003 Associated Press AMARILLO - Almost 21 years ago, Rick and Evelyn Husband were married here at First Presbyterian Church. Friday, at that same place of worship, a thousand people turned out in a tribute to Col. Husband, commander of the shuttle Columbia. Mrs. Husband, who has rarely made public remarks since the shuttle broke apart Feb. 1 over Texas, killing her husband and six other astronauts, spoke about the love he gave their two children and how much he will be missed. "I...

Left wing fragment could be key discovery Columbia investigators sort pieces of the puzzle 02/11/2003 By JIM MORRIS / The Dallas Morning News WASHINGTON - In perhaps the most significant development since Columbia disintegrated Feb. 1 over Texas, NASA confirmed Monday that it has found and is examining a piece of the shuttle's left wing. Michael C. Kostelnik, a NASA deputy associate administrator, said the 1 ½-foot wing fragment was discovered last week near Corsicana and had been taken to Barksdale Air Force Base near Shreveport, La. The section - which includes a 2-foot piece of carbon-composite panel, the...

Mystery object draws interest Investigators weighing whether chunk of ice damaged Columbia 02/10/2003 By ALEXANDRA WITZE / The Dallas Morning News HOUSTON - A mysterious object - possibly a softball-size chunk of ice - that fell off Columbia gained NASA's interest Sunday, but investigators said again that virtually nothing has been ruled out. As the search for clues for what went wrong entered its second week in the shuttle disaster, the agency is considering a big change for the astronauts left in space. NASA and its Russian counterpart may swap the three explorers now aboard the International Space Station...

Unfathomable shuttle puzzle Be undaunted, past investigators say; key clue might be waiting 02/09/2003 By JULIET MACUR / The Dallas Morning News Clues to the mystery could be anywhere, from the depths of the Pacific Ocean to the bayous of Louisiana, stuck in trees, hidden on mountaintops or drowned in murky water. More than a week after the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas, investigators are piecing together what could be the biggest and most complicated puzzle in aviation and aeronautics history. No recovery effort has been spread over so many square miles or so much varied terrain. No...

Columbia crew praised at East Texas memorial 02/08/2003 Associated Press LUFKIN, Texas - In an East Texas town that is the command center in the search for debris from space shuttle Columbia, the seven astronauts who died were remembered Saturday not only for being heroes, but also for being a fun-loving group. "Just seven days ago we were awaiting the successful return of the space shuttle Columbia," Gov. Rick Perry told the group of about 1,000 gathered at the First Baptist church. "Today we mourn the lives of the seven on board, so close to their final destination." Perry...

NASA recovers shuttle wing section 02/07/2003 Associated Press NACOGDOCHES, Texas - NASA said Friday it has found an important piece of one of Columbia's wings and was removing it to a collection site in Fort Worth. NASA spaceflight office deputy Michael Kostelnik called it "a significant recovery." "We do have a large piece of one of the wings. It's not clear which wing this is, but obviously given the (unusual instrument readings) we have on the descent coming through the left wing, obviously this structure is very important." The wing piece was being taken to a military installation in...

Shuttle disaster disrupts quiet calm of life in the piney woods 02/07/2003 By LISA FALKENBERG / The Associated PressSAN AUGUSTINE, Texas — From the front window of a lonely store, Aimee Garrett and her tiny terrier "Sugar" watch the incessant blur of disaster crew trucks, state troopers and military vehicles that roar down the highway connecting Nacogdoches to San Augustine."Nobody comes here unless they have to," said 30-year-old Garrett, who works in the frame country store off the highway in the tiny community of Chireno. "It's just another day here."But it's far from just another day around Chireno and many...

'All mankind is in their debt' 02/04/2003 By BRUCE NICHOLS / The Dallas Morning News HOUSTON - The lives of the seven Columbia astronauts were celebrated Tuesday in a short, somber service laced with Old Testament wisdom and attended by thousands who remembered them as explorers who dared to dream. "Today we remember not only one moment of tragedy but seven lives of purpose and achievement," President Bush said at the service. "To leave behind Earth and air and gravity is an ancient dream of humanity - for this seven it was a dream fulfilled." AP President Bush wipes...

Investigative board members arrive in Texas 02/04/2003 Associated Press NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Members of the independent board investigating the Columbia disaster arrived Tuesday morning to get a firsthand look at the debris being collected from across a vast stretch of countryside. "One of the first things we had to do is go out and look at some of the debris. It makes the accident more personal to us. This prevents it from becoming an abstract event," said retired Navy Adm. Harold W. Gehman Jr., chairman of the commission. "I know that we won't go out and solve the mystery...

Massive hunt turns up nose cone but doesn't omit tiniest fragments 02/04/2003 By LEE HANCOCK and TODD BENSMAN / The Dallas Morning News NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The unparalleled scavenger hunt for remnants of the crumbled Columbia expanded and intensified Monday as the first physical clues of the space shuttle's disintegration over Texas were delivered to federal investigators. At Barksdale Air Force Base near Shreveport, La., some human remains arrived Monday after an honor guard met two caskets holding other remains Sunday. "We're being respectful and honorable with the remains that have been, and will be, brought here in the...

Searching for answers NASA says it may have taken liftoff damage too lightly 02/04/2003 By BRUCE NICHOLS / The Dallas Morning News HOUSTON - Space agency officials said Monday that they might have underestimated the damage caused to shuttle Columbia when debris fell from the external tank shortly after launch and struck the left wing. "We're completely redoing the analysis from scratch. ... We want to know if we made any mistakes," said Ron Dittemore, shuttle program director. The piece of insulation that fell off the shuttle's giant external tank 81 seconds after launch is estimated to have been...

Video shows shuttle may have shed debris over Arizona 02/04/2003 By BYRON HARRIS / WFAA-TV NEWS 8 EXCLUSIVE There is now dramatic new evidence that the shuttle Columbia may have been in trouble before it disintegrated over Texas. The spacecraft's demise may have begun much farther west - captured on tape in Arizona. The sky over Wupatki National Monument was still dark Saturday morning when Scott and Chris Valentine got up early to shoot pictures of Columbia en route to a landing in Florida. Also Online Video: Amateur tape could hold clues The Valentines were space fans, so they...

A jigsaw puzzle of debris 02/03/2003 By DON WALL / WFAA-TV and TONY HARTZEL / The Dallas Morning News NACOGDOCHES, Texas - In East Texas, where debris from the space shuttle Columbia rained down from the sky on Saturday, a number of agencies are struggling to organize an unprecedented search effort -- even as more parts from the ill-fated spacecraft are being identified. Search teams are also finding body parts in and around the wreckage. The first human remains were transported to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. "They formally, as in any military funeral, received the caskets," said...

Grieving, budget, war fill Bush agenda 02/03/2003 Associated Press WASHINGTON - President Bush is tentatively planning to attend a memorial Tuesday in Houston for the seven astronauts killed in the space shuttle Columbia disaster. The service at the Johnson Space Center will be part of a whirlwind week for Mr. Bush's administration, which will unveil his proposed budget on Monday and defend its handling of Iraq at the United Nations on Wednesday. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Sunday that the shuttle disaster will not alter Mr. Bush's plans to confront Saddam Hussein. "The president views this as a...

Search just starting Debris, already found in 33 Texas counties, sought in recovery effort 02/03/2003 By LEE HANCOCK and DAVE MICHAELS / The Dallas Morning News LUFKIN, Texas - It is an unprecedented search for the pieces of an unimaginable puzzle. In the woods and in the air, on horseback and by boat, searchers combed East Texas on Sunday for the remains of space shuttle Columbia and its seven-member crew. "We are beginning to make progress," shuttle program director Ron Dittemore said at a news conference in Houston. "It's going to take us some days and weeks" to begin...

Schools searched for debris Some campuses may be closed today to allow EPA removal 02/03/2003 By STEPHANIE SANDOVAL / The Dallas Morning News Officials at school districts across the eastern half of Texas fanned out across their campuses Sunday to search for shuttle debris before children returned to classes Monday. Gov. Rick Perry directed districts in 93 counties to inspect all grounds, including rooftops. The Environmental Protection Agency will remove debris from school sites and recommends keeping schools closed until debris is removed. In North Texas, searchers located a piece of debris Sunday at Maypearl High School, said Chief...

Top Stories WRECKAGE SCATTERS ACROSS ET By: JACQUE HILBURN, Staff Writer February 01, 2003 REMNANTS FOUND: Another possible artifact from the shuttle landed in the Arriola-Cooke Cemetery off Texas Highway 7 in Nacogdoches County. (Staff Photo By D.J. Peters) A fast-moving vapor, flashes of light and a series of explosions erupting across East Texas signaled the abrupt end of space shuttle Columbia moments before it was scheduled to land in Florida. Six Americans and one Israeli astronaut died when the craft exploded over Dallas, peppering East Texas and portions of Louisiana with debris and bits of wreckage, NASA officials...

Kuwaitis express sorrow U.S. troops preparing for war were concerned, 'hoping for the best' 02/02/2003 By JIM LANDERS / The Dallas Morning News KUWAIT - Thousands of U.S. troops preparing for a possible war with Iraq got the news of the space shuttle Columbia's loss from televisions in mess halls and recreation centers. "Obviously there was a lot of interest, and hoping for the best," said Army Col. Rick Thomas, chief of public affairs with the Coalition Forces Land Component Command at Camp Doha, Kuwait. The loss also dominated discussions among Kuwaitis, who gather in evening socials to discuss...

Columbia began era of shuttle Tragedy, worries pursued program after that first 1981 flight 02/02/2003 By KAREN PATTERSON / The Dallas Morning News Columbia first roared into orbit April 12, 1981, and took an uncertain nation with it. Ronald Reagan had just left a Washington, D.C., hospital the day before, after an assassin's bullet barely missed his heart. Recuperating, he awoke 10 minutes before the day's event, the first launch of a shuttle into orbit. No lofty White House speeches were planned that Sunday morning. "It's a spectacular sight," the president said. But even then, Columbia was tainted by...