A large piece of the space shuttle Columbia's nose cone was found Monday in a field in Sabine County, Texas, buried deep in a thick pine forest, officials said Monday night.
It is believed to be one of the largest pieces of the shuttle found thus far.
The nose was found off a main road outside of Hemphill, Sabine County Sheriff Tom Maddox said.
"It's reasonably intact," said Warren Zehner, a senior coordinator for the Environmental Protection Agency, which is overseeing collection of the space shuttle debris.
Zehner estimated the shuttle piece weighed around 500 pounds, AP reported.
The nose cone's discovery was the latest major piece to come to light as searchers continued probing a sprawling area Monday in an effort to reassemble the events leading up to Columbia's tragic break up on Saturday. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
