Sad news, courtesy of loyal reader and free-market green M. Simon. The evidence comes from the remarkably fortuitous discovery of one of the Space Shuttle's Columbia's instrument recorders. In the words of ABC News:
"It shows an unusual temperature increase in a key sensor just behind the leading edge of the left wing near the spot where foam that fell from the shuttle's external fuel tank is suspected of striking the shuttle, just 81 seconds into the flight.Alas, this data was not available to Ground Control during the shuttle's flight.The temperature spike happens within the next 40 seconds. Usually during this phase of flight, the temperature would be decreasing or holding steady, sources said."
For a happier follow-up, read about the the successful unveiling and test flight of Rutan's private SpaceShipOne system, and how it solves the re-entry problem that destroyed the Shuttle.
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