Shuttle recorder yields clues
The week's news at a glance.
Cape Canaveral, Fla.
The data recorder from the space shuttle Columbia preserved a “gold mine of information” that could help explain the craft’s fiery end, investigators said. Columbia’s left wing grew dangerously hot more than a minute earlier than was first thought, NASA officials said this week. Data from 9,400 feet of magnetic tape preserved in the recorder indicated that the wing’s temperature spiked seconds after the shuttle reached the peak heat of re-entry into the atmosphere, before it began its descent. Investigators believe searing gases entered the wing, probably along its leading edge, causing the craft to disintegrate. Foam insulation that dislodged at liftoff slammed into the wing at 500 mph, and might have pierced Columbia’s heat shield. Seven astronauts were killed when the shuttle broke apart on Feb. 1.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Selfies ban in art galleries: a sign of the times?
Talking Point Priceless art has been damaged by visitors desperate to take a snap with star attractions, leading some galleries and museums to start fighting back
-
Quiz of The Week: 21 – 27 June
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
The Week Unwrapped: How do you turn plastics into paracetamol?
Podcast Plus, what is the Wagner Group doing now? And why is it so hard to find a job after university?