Inquiry focuses on left wing of shuttle

INVESTIGATORS were last night focusing on Columbia’s left wing as they tried to determine what destroyed the space shuttle, killing all seven astronauts on board.

A piece of insulating foam broke off the external fuel tank about a minute into Columbia's launch on January 16, smashing into the wing, which is covered with thermal tiles to protect the ship from the extreme heat experienced on re-entry into the atmosphere.

Just a day earlier, NASA had given assurances that the incident was no reason for concern. The space agency did an extensive engineering analysis that included a frame-by-frame examination of the launch video, and concluded that any damage to Columbia's thermal tiles would be minor.