Six-Week Look Into Columbia Recovery Operation; Ground, Air Crews Top 1 Million Acres Searched
Release Date: March 14, 2003
Release Number: 3171-51
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Lufkin, TX -- Six weeks after February 1, when President Bush designated the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as the lead federal agency in the Columbia Space Shuttle response and recovery operation, approximately 5,470 federal and state workers continue searching for and supporting the overall recovery effort.
Ground and air operations have covered over one million acres, mostly in Texas, with searches also conducted in Louisiana, California, Utah, Nevada and New Mexico. To date 28,199 shuttle items have been recovered. The items processed by the Kennedy Space Center in Florida weigh 43,200 pounds and amount to 19% of the total weight of Columbia.
"The total cost of the search, find and recovery operation through March 12 amounts to $138,283,900. These funds include costs associated with the ground, air and water search operations, equipment and personnel," said Federal Coordinating Officer Scott Wells.
"The NASA organization greatly appreciates all of the dedicated and well coordinated efforts by the many federal, state and local organizations who have walked together with us down the road to recovery," said NASA Oversight Manager, Lufkin DFO, Mike Rudolphi.
FEMA Public Assistance, working through the State of Texas ($818,000) and State of Louisiana ($332,000) has obligated reimbursements totaling $1.15 million.
Ground Operations (Base Camps -- 4,063 personnel)
Interagency search teams consisting of 20-person crews walk searching for Columbia material. This is coordinated by the Texas Forest Service and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
- Nacogdoches -- Southern Area Incident Command. Team members have searched 47,361 acres and recovered 18,805 pieces.
- Hemphill -- Southwest Area Incident Command. Team members have searched 47,397 acres and recovered 1,588 items.
- Palestine -- California Interagency Management Team. Members have searched 39,046 acres and recovered 3,121 pieces.
- Corsicana -- Pacific Northwest National Incident Management Team. More than 1,250 team members have searched 55,341 acres and recovered 4,685 items.
- Longview - Columbia Support Mobilization and Staging Team consisting of more than 100 members who mobilize and demobilize all base camp personnel.
- Total search hours attributed to the ground operation in the first 6-weeks has amounted to 448,749. Teams have searched a total of 188,135 acres.
Air Operations (Helicopter and Fixed Wing Aircraft -- 192 personnel)
Helicopters and fixed wing aircraft have flown more than 400 missions in the past six weeks. The Texas Forest Service (TFS) and NASA coordinate all air search operations.
- Daily air search operations are being conducted in Texas along the primary search corridor consisting of a 10 mile by 200-mile area.
- Searches are being conducted, as weather permits, in New Mexico, Utah and Nevada. Four additional areas, between Fort Worth and Lubbock are being searched.
- There are 192 individuals involved in the air operations. Air personnel have searched a total of 750,000 acres.
Water Operations (Using Side Scan, Multi Beam Sonar Assets -- 145 personnel)
The U.S. Navy is coordinating eight dive teams assigned to Toledo Bend Reservoir and Lake Nacogdoches. Search assets include boats and underwater sonar units. There are 145 individuals assigned to search and dive operations.
- To date, the teams have dived on more than 1,400 targets in Toledo Bend Reservoir and Lake Nacogdoches. The teams are from the U.S. Navy, City of Houston, City of Galveston, Texas Department of Public Safety, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Coast Guard, Texas Parks & Wildlife, Louisiana Fish & Wildlife, Jasper County Police Department and the Sabine River Authority.
- The combined dive teams have covered 19.12 square nautical miles since the mission started.
Public Assistance (Debris Removal & Emergency Services)
The states of Texas and Louisiana have been obligated a total of $1.15 million as part of the FEMA Public Assistance Program. This program provides cities, states and non-profit organizations with 100% eligible reimbursement costs for such items as debris and emergency services associated with the recovery effort. Texas has been obligated $818,000 while Louisiana has been obligated $332,000. The program is funded 100% by FEMA and administered by the individual states.
Environmental Protection Agency (Identifies, Neutralizes and Tags Material- 635 personnel)
The Environmental Protection Agency heads up the response function to identify and neutralize potentially hazardous material. They employ U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Tennessee Valley Authority and the U.S. Forest Service as well as photography documentation and data entry personnel. The EPA supports ground search operations by collecting and tagging materials found.
State of Texas (Division of Emergency Management -- 9 personnel)
The State of Texas supplied exceptional support to local communities in the initial search and continues to support the federal agencies involved in the recovery event. The Texas Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management is responsible for coordinating the state response. Among the state agency personnel committed: 353 state troopers, about 800 National Guard, four aircraft, 17 helicopters, 140 Texas Forest Service personnel, 35 horse-mounted search teams, 20 Texas Department of Transportation personnel, 27 Texas Commission of Environmental Quality personnel and numerous other units such as dogs and handlers, mapping support and game wardens. Many have returned to their regular assignments.
Additional Personnel (Involved In Recovery Operation)
NASA 262; FEMA 104; Texas Forest Service 41; Department of Defense 2; Department of Transportation 1.
Last Modified: Monday, 14-Apr-2003 10:31:38