Board views shuttle wreckage%)
Kennedy Space Center-AP -- The board investigating the Columbia disaster has been looking over the charred, broken remains of the space shuttle today. They're paying particularly close attention to what little is left of the left wing. A hole along the wing's leading edge doomed the spaceship during its dive toward home on February first, killing all seven astronauts aboard. Debris that broke off during the launch is thought to be to blame.
The panel's chief, retired admiral Harold Gehman (GAY'-muhn) Junior, says the board members felt it was their duty to view the wreckage one last time as a group before they issue their report. That's expected in July.
More than 84-thousand pieces of Columbia have been recovered and taken to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. That represents 38 percent of the shuttle, far more than investigators had hoped to find.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|