12 Feb
2003
12 Feb
'03
9:32 a.m.
There is something that I have been really curious about that I haven't seen mentioned (please forgive me if I somehow just missed it). We know that the shuttle was following an atypical reentry track - because we were able to observe it over southern Utah. I'm wondering if this reentry profile presents times when there are greater stresses on the orbiter than a typical reentry profile? I.e., more severe banking that might overly stress an already somewhat damaged wing; which wouldn't have caused a failure in a more typical reentry profile. Certainly, this wouldn't be a root cause - but might be a contributing factor. Obviously, I've entered into second tier speculation. <g>