STS-107<br />Report #26<br />Monday, February 10, 2003 - 6 p.m. CST<br />Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas<br /><br />NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe reported today approximately 12,000 pieces<br />of debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia have been collected along a<br />500-mile swath between Ft. Worth, Texas, and the Louisiana-Texas border. The<br />debris is being tagged for identification and transported to the Kennedy<br />Space Center (KSC), Fla., for use in the on-going investigation.<br /><br />There is no primary or favorite theory as to what caused the Feb. 1 Shuttle<br />accident. Fault-tree analysis and Probability Risk Assessments continue to<br />be important tools to ensure no possible cause is overlooked. NASA's focus<br />is on helping to determine the cause of the accident, finding solutions to<br />the problems, and returning to safe flight operations as soon as possible.<br /><br />A section of reinforced carbon-carbon from the leading edge of a Shuttle<br />wing was recovered. It is believed to be from the left wing. Teams continue<br />to search for and collect debris. The first pieces of debris are expected to<br />begin the 18-hour journey by truck from Barksdale AFB to KSC on Tuesday and<br />arrive on Wednesday.<br /><br />Administrator O'Keefe said that NASA has done its best to be open and<br />forthcoming with information about the accident investigation, and that it<br />is time to transition that responsibility to the independent Columbia<br />Accident Investigation Board (CAIB). NASA will continue to release<br />information periodically as appropriate as it becomes available. "We<br />will defer to the CAIB to set the pace of discussions of how the<br />investigation itself is progressing," O'Keefe said. He added that the<br />Board will advise NASA when the data and hardware that has been impounded<br />will be released for continued Shuttle operations.<br /><br />"We intend to fully support and ensure the Board has independence and<br />objectivity to proceed as its members feel appropriate," Administrator<br />O'Keefe said. "We will defer to the CAIB to set the pace of discussions<br />of how the investigation is progressing."<br /><br />O'Keefe said that the NASA Inspector General has been an observer on the<br />ground from the beginning, helping to ensure the independence and<br />objectivity<br />of the CAIB under the terms of the Inspector General Act.<br /><br />O'Keefe added that he intends to release the CAIB's recommendations to the<br />public as soon as they are available. "It is our responsibility to make<br />that informed judgment public," he said, explaining that the scope and<br />breadth of the Board members' experience in aircraft and other types of<br />accidents is more than NASA could bring to bear on the investigation.<br /><br />The CAIB will conduct its first press conference at 3 p.m. EST Tuesday, Feb.<br />11, in Teague Auditorium at the Johnson Space Center, Houston. Board<br />Chairman Harold W. Gehman Jr., will introduce CAIB members and discuss Board<br />structure, activities, and plans for the investigation.<br /><br />The Expedition 6 crew aboard the International Space Station continued to<br />unpack supplies delivered aboard the Progress-10 resupply ship and to<br />prepare for a 6:34 a.m. EST Tuesday re-boost of the station using the<br />Progress thrusters. The re-boost will last about 22 minutes and increase the<br />Station's orbit approximately 7 miles.<br /><br />Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and NASA Station<br />Science Officer Don Pettit will field questions from reporters during a news<br />conference starting at 9:34 a.m. EST, Tuesday. The news conference will be<br />broadcast on NASA Television with two-way question and answer capability<br />from reporters at NASA centers.<br /><br />While Shuttle missions are on indefinite hold, there is no urgency to adjust<br />plans regarding the late April launch of a new Russian Soyuz TMA spacecraft<br />or the makeup of its crew. Supplies on the Station are sufficient through<br />June. There are enough propellants on board to maintain the Station's<br />altitude and attitude for a year. Options are being considered with the<br />International Partners to keep the station manned, safe and productive.<br />"First we need to keep the crew safe," said Michael Kostelnik,<br />Deputy Associate Administrator for International Space Station and Space<br />Shuttle, "and second, is to keep the Station safe."<br /><br />NASA TV is available on AMC-2, Transponder 9C, vertical polarization at 85<br />degrees west longitude, 3880 MHz, with audio at 6.8 MHz.<br /><br />For more information about NASA on the Internet:<br /><br />www.nasa.gov