[Flyer]

I haven't followed these Columbia threads and I don't pretend any knowledge, but as an easy fix to the problem could the leading edges and other sensitive areas be covered with something sturdy (that would perhaps burn off early in re-entry)?

[jpthomas]

Of course, all the previous US manned space systems used a heat shield to survive reentry. Those shields would gradually melt away in the plasma via a process called ablation. Those were "one-time use" systems, and as such, contrary to the reusable philosophy of the space shuttle. Something like what you suggest, applied for example as a "coating" or "cover" on the wing leading edges, might bring with it problems of its own, such as the effect of the splatter of the molten material on other parts of the shuttle.