Fact Sheet
One Last Look
The crew of space shuttle Columbia, which disintegrated during reentry on February 1, poses for a portrait in the craft's laboratory module. The picture was on a roll of film recovered with shuttle debris, and was released last week. In blue, from left: David Brown, pilot Willie McCool, and Michael Anderson. In red, from left: Kalpana Chawla, commander Rick Husband, Laurel Clark, and Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon. The panel investigating the accident tentatively has concluded that a chunk of foam from the shuttle's external fuel tank damaged the Columbia's left wing during liftoff, allowing hot gases to enter the wing during reentry, board members reported last week. [Credit: NASA]
|