spacetoday.net: NASA releases shuttle email

Posted: Wed, Jul 2, 2003, 8:07 AM ET (1207 GMT)
STS-107 patch (NASA)

NASA released this week an email exchange between ground controllers and the commander of STS-107, informing him of the foam debris strike but playing down any damage concerns. In a message dated January 23 — one week after launch — Steve Stich in mission control told shuttle commander Rick Husband and pilot Willie McCool that video evidence showed that foam had struck the left wing of the orbiter. However, Stich also told them that there was "no concern" for any damage, and that the event was "not even worth mentioning" other than in the event a reported asked the astronauts about during in-flight press conferences. Husband thanked Stich for the message in a brief response, making a joke. NASA also released a transcript this week of communications among flight controllers during reentry, showing that concerns about damage of a debris strike was on their minds as the first evidence of problems with the shuttle showed up in the telemetry.