Experts from the Air Force and Navy -- which had five of the
seven crew members -- will join officials from the
Transportation Department and other federal agencies on
the review panel, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said.

The space agency also will conduct its own investigation
into the disaster, O'Keefe said at a news conference from
Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Both investigations will review all the information NASA
collected as the Columbia began its descent for landing,
then started breaking up more than 200,000 feet over
Texas.

That information would include transmissions from the
crew, as well as records from the shuttle's sensors,
analysis of the debris and data from military, government
and commercial satellites.

Military satellites with infrared detectors saw several
flashes as Columbia broke apart, according to a defense
official who spoke only on condition of anonymity. It was
unclear whether those "spikes" of heat indicated an
explosion, the burning of pieces of debris re-entering the
atmosphere or something else.

O'Keefe and other senior administration officials said there
was no indication that any kind of attack from the ground
caused the disaster.

FBI spokeswoman Angela Bell also said there was no
indication of terrorism and that the FBI would have a minor
role in the investigation, mainly helping collect evidence.

The independent investigation -- similar to one after the
1986 explosion of the shuttle Challenger -- is meant to
assure the public and Congress that the cause of the
disaster will be found and fixed.

"You can expect the shuttle (program) will be on hold and
we will be waiting for the investigation to be completed,"
said Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, who is on the Senate
Appropriations Committee.

http://foxnews.com/story/0,2933,77284,00.html

Редактирано от File99 на 01.02.03 23:54.