Posted: Fri, Oct 17, 2003, 10:50 AM ET (1450 GMT)
After over a year of work, a team investigating the loss of NASA’s Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) spacecraft concluded that the structural failure during an engine burn was the most likely, but not certain, cause of the accident. Contact with CONTOUR, launched in July 2002, was lost on August 15 of that year during an engine burn designed to propel the spacecraft out of Earth orbit. Investigators concluded that the plume from the Star 30BP solid-propellant motor embedded in the spacecraft caused elements of the spacecraft to overheat, leading to structural failure of the spacecraft. However, investigators, led by NASA Chief Engineer Theron Bradley, could not rule out several other possible causes, including catastrophic failure of the engine, collision with a meteoroid or space debris, or loss of dynamic control of the spacecraft. Those alternative causes are considered less probable than plume heating for the failure, however.

Related Links:

•  Space News article (subscription required)
•  AP article
•  Astronomy article
•  NASA press release