Workers have spread across East Texas to recover key components of the space shuttle Columbia, as well as the remains of seven astronauts killed.
The nose section of the Columbiawas found embedded in a wooded area near Hemphill, by the Louisiana border, said Sabine County Sheriff Tom Maddox. He said NASA would have to verify it was the front part of the space vehicle.
Teams on horseback, in helicopters and on foot searched for items as small as coins from Columbia, which disintegrated on Saturday in an accident that killed all seven on board.
Although debris has been found at about 2,000 sites on ranches, front lawns and in schoolyards in an area some 100 miles long and 10 miles wide, officials said the search for debris would not be finished soon.
Federal officials, using plastic bags and wraps as well as buckets, collected pieces of the shuttle throughout the day while using global positioning satellites to mark each piece.
NASA officials were anxious to find parts of a key electronic system housed in a black rectangular box - not to be confused with the "black box" found in commercial aircraft that records voice and data.
Nacogdoches County Judge Sue Kennedy said teams that would remove the debris were being assembled in a federal command centre in Lufkin, about 20 miles south of Nacogdoches, and then dispersed to surrounding counties in what has been dubbed the "debris belt," where most of the wreckage fell.