Burned Piece of Shuttle Rocket Joint Recovered

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — In what could be a breakthrough, shuttle salvage crews have recovered “burned-out” debris from a rocket joint where a fatal leak occurred, dooming the shuttle Challenger, the presidential commission probing the disaster announced today.

It was the most significant find yet in the hunt for wreckage from Challenger’s right-side booster, the No. 1 priority of the 10-week-old search for shuttle wreckage.

“This piece is part of the aft center segment (of the rocket) in the joint area where a leak was suspected,” a commission statement said. “A burned-out area of the joint . . . is evident.

The wreckage was recovered Sunday by the crew of the salvage vessel Stena Workhorse in 560 feet of water about 40 miles northeast of Challenger’s launch pad.

On shore Monday, NASA engineers worked to put the finishing touches on the space agency’s accident report detailing the causes of the Challenger disaster for the presidential panel. NASA’s report is to be handed over to the panel on Friday.

A key element of NASA’s accident review is what caused a leak in the joint between the lower two of four fuel segments that made up Challenger’s right-side solid-fuel booster.

The dimensions of the debris recovered were not known, but the wreckage included part of the “tang” portion of the suspect joint, located on the lower end of the second fuel segment from the bottom.

“Commission investigators are en route to examine this evidence,” the panel statement said, describing the debris as of “critical interest.”

The upper tang part of the joint fit into an upward-facing U-shaped “clevis” joint, located on the top of the lower fuel segment. The corresponding clevis section has not been found.

The upper joint section recovered was the first from the actual area where the rupture occurred. Two previous pieces of wreckage from the joint were brought ashore, but both came from an area on the other side of the rocket from where the leak occurred.