Why is it that NASA doesn't have me convinced that the foam falling off is the real problem? The shuttle's all of them have had problems with the porcelain tiles falling off... remember when the big news item was the count of missing tiles at the end of each flight. Is it possible the (Aeropoxy) is just getting old So then unfortunately the most recent Columbia flight had some fall off that were in more critically important locations.

I don't know why the foam excuse just doesn't ring true to me... am I screwed up in my thinking? Seems to me anything falling off of the tanks may hit the shuttle yea OK, but even if it were steel wouldn't it hit at a relatively slow closure speed? Sorta like the Blue Angles bumping at 300 MPH while moving in the same direction no big deal...
Lee H. DeMary
AMA 36099

Throw a piece of insulation bigger than you are into your car at 35 mph and tell me it's not that big of a deal.

"even if it was steel...lol" I can tell you don't work around construction materials or around aircraft. Aircraft/spacecraft are made light to get them up...very light. It's easier to bang on a wing with a rubber mallet and make a huge dent in it than it is your car you drive everday.

Remember it doesn't even take a puncture to take down the shuttle, rather a small dent can cause a heat problem when the airflow over it changes suddenly. I'm not sure if the wing was ruptured on the shuttle that came down but possibly just a disruption.

I picked up tons of pieces of the last shuttle on Forest Service land (actually we just tagged and GPS'ed them) in San Augustine and Sabine county Texas two years ago. Peices that were just a little smaller than a person would weigh 20 pounds - maybe less.

Lee. tiles falling off, by them selves, is a very unlikely occurance. The issue we have dealt with for the last 2.5 years is External Tank debris causing an issue. Not an easy thing to fix! But we did it anyway. Discovery has far less ET induced damage than any Orbiter previously! And we will do better in the future.