New Space
Shuttle Columbia Images Released
NASA today released recovered photographs and video taken by the crew of the Space
Shuttle Columbia during its scientific research mission in January. The imagery
was found during search efforts since the loss of Columbia Feb. 1.
The Columbia Accident Investigation Board recently determined the material was
not relevant to their investigation. The imagery documents the STS-107 mission
from the crew's perspective. The imagery includes almost 10 hours of recovered
video and 92 photographs. It includes in-cabin, Earth observation and experiment-related
imagery. The Shuttle carried 337 videotapes, but only 28 were found with some
recoverable footage. The mission carried 137 rolls of film, but only 21 were found
containing recoverable photographs.
The imagery is among the more than 84,000 pieces of debris recovered. The debris
weighs 84,900 pounds, about 38 percent of the dry weight of Columbia. More than
30,000 people assisted in the search conducted through the combined efforts of
NASA, FEMA, EPA, the U.S. and Texas Forest Services. The Columbia Recovery Office
at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) was established to continue accepting calls
about debris, since the formal search was completed in April. The toll free number
to report debris is: 1/866/446-6603.
Selected scenes and photographs will be broadcast on NASA Television today at
12:15 p.m. EDT. News media may obtain the video and photos in their entirety by
calling the JSC Media Resource Center at: 281/483-4231. NASA Television is broadcast
on AMC-2, transponder 9C, C-Band, located at 85 degrees West longitude. The frequency
is 3880.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical and audio is monaural at 6.8 MHz. Information
about NASA and the Columbia accident investigation is on the Internet at:
www.nasa.gov