Shuttle debris found in craters on Louisiana Army base
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PICKERING, Louisiana (AP) -- The discovery of three engine parts from the space shuttle Columbia could mark the end of the debris search in Louisiana.
On Tuesday, workers recovered the debris in two craters at Fort Polk in central Louisiana, ending NASA's search for shuttle debris in the area, said Kelly Humphries, a space agency spokesman.
"This is the last of it that we know of," Humphries said.
The site of the debris was among the farthest east any Columbia fragments have been found so far. The engine parts traveled farther east because they were among the densest, heaviest parts of the aircraft, Humphries said.
The workers recovered two of Columbia's engine powerheads, which are pathways for fuel in a shuttle engine. All three of the shuttle's powerheads were found on Fort Polk. Also found was one turbopump, which is an engine part where fuel is pressurized.
The shuttle broke up February 1 over north Texas, killing all seven astronauts and spraying debris over Texas and western Louisiana.
Once the debris is prepared for transport, it will be taken to Barksdale Air Force Base near Shreveport, then moved to Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where NASA workers are collecting and analyzing Columbia debris.
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