'SPY PLANE' HUNTS DEBRIS OF COLUMBIA AN ER-2 WAS FLOWN AT 40,000 FEET OVER PARTS OF WESTERN TEXAS ON SATURDAY FOR SEVEN HOURS.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE - An ER-2 research aircraft based at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center flew over western Texas to search for debris from the space shuttle Columbia, NASA said Wednesday.

An ER-2, a civilian version of the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, was flown at 40,000 feet over parts of western Texas on Saturday for seven hours. Images from special cameras are being studied to determine if any shuttle debris can be located, officials said.

To help searchers analyze the imagery, various samples of debris - not from Columbia - were placed under the ER-2's flight path for comparison purposes, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said.

The ER-2 operates at altitudes between 20,000 feet and 70,000 feet. Because the aircraft can fly so high, its sensors mimic sensors carried aboard orbiting satellites.

The aircraft is capable of missions of up to eight hours and a range of up to 3,400 miles.

NASA has two ER-2 aircraft that are used as flying laboratories. The aircraft, both based at Dryden, are used for celestial observations as well as research projects examining atmospheric chemistry and dynamics and oceanic processes.

NASA acquired the two aircraft in the 1980s. The planes were based at NASA's Ames Research Center in Northern California until 1997 when they were moved to Dryden as part of an effort to consolidate the agency's aircraft operations.