Evidence emerges in shuttle probe

A breach in Columbia's skin allowed glowing, superheated air to penetrate the space shuttle, seconds before the craft broke apart over Texas, investigators said Thursday.  

 

 

 

In its first key finding, the independent board said the shuttle fuselage sustained a significant rupture, rather than simply incurring damage from the loss of a few heat-resistant tiles or another internal malfunction.  

 

 

 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials now suspect that plasma-air heated to temperatures exceeding 2,000 degrees-penetrated the shuttle's armor either through the leading edge of the left wing or through a 300-pound landing gear door, sheathed in protective tiles.