-
Related
NASA has backtracked from a theory that protective foam which hit Columbia's left wing eventually caused the disintegration of the space shuttle, and said it was still searching for "the missing link".
The position was outlined as the remains of Columbia's crew members were flown to a military air base in flag-bedecked caskets.
"It does not make sense that a piece of (foam) debris caused the loss of Columbia and its crew," said Ron Dittemore, NASA's space shuttle programme manager.
"So we're looking somewhere else: was there another event that escaped detection? We're focusing our attention on what we didn't see."
NASA earlier focused on the impact from the piece of insulating foam that fell off the shuttle's external fuel tank and hit the left wing during liftoff on January 15, possibly damaging one or more of the ceramic tiles that form the spacecraft's heat shield.
NASA experts also were trying to retrieve data that computers captured 32 seconds after contact with the crew was lost.
As investigators continued to search for clues, the remains of the Columbia crew arrived at the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where morticians were to prepare them so they can be returned to the astronauts' families.
The remains of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon will be sent to his family in Israel, where a funeral is being organised.
Funeral arrangements for the other six - Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark - have not been announced.
Earlier, two people were indicted for stealing debris from the space shuttle Columbia and others who picked up pieces given until Friday evening to turn them free of penalty.
A federal grand jury in Tyler, Texas, returned one-count indictments against Merrie Hipp, 43, of Henderson, Texas, and Bradley Justin Gaudet, 23, of Nacogdoches, said Matthew Orwig, the US attorney for the Eastern District of Texas.
Hipp was charged with stealing a circuit board from the wreckage and Gaudet was charged with stealing thermal barrier fabric. If convicted, they could face up to 10 years in jail and a $US250,000 fine.
"We have taken this extraordinary step as part of the effort to help authorities in their monumental effort to recover each and every clue to the Columbia tragedy," Orwig said at a news conference.
The shuttle disintegrated on Saturday, killing all seven crew members, as it was headed for landing after a largely trouble-free, 16-day mission dedicated to science.
Orwig said the amnesty period would last until 6 pm EDT (2300 GMT) on Friday for people to turn in pieces of the shuttle they have taken into their possession.
He also said there were 17 investigations concerning people who tried to sell shuttle debris on Internet auction site eBay.
Kerss has said removing debris was a federal offense because the shuttle belonged to the federal government. He said in several other instances residents who were visited by police voluntarily relinquished items.
