Photographs taken seconds into space shuttle Columbia’s launch suggest that hydrogen escaped from one or more cooling tubes in its right engine, the space agency said.
 
Such a fuel leak could have caused the shuttle to shut down suddenly if more hydrogen had escaped, forcing the first-ever shuttle emergency landing, either in Florida or West Africa, NASA said Sunday.
 
In spite of the suspected malfunction and an unrelated electrical short five seconds into launch Friday, Columbia and its cargo — the world’s most powerful X-ray telescope — safely reached orbit under the control of Air Force Col. Eileen Collins, the first woman to command a U.S. space flight.
 
The suspected problem will not affect the rest of the flight, said Wayne Hale, NASA’s mission operations representative, because the three main engines are not used after propelling the shuttle into orbit. Columbia is scheduled to land in Florida on Tuesday night.