According to NBC flight expert Robert Hager, the memo now being discussed, did NOT state that there was a 2 1/2 foot gash in the tiles. Hager states that the the group of engineers who were asked to study the take-off problem, sent their memo back to NASA two days before re-entry, and the memo states there could be damage to the heat tiles of that size. Hager says the The memo states the damage "COULD POSSIBLY be that large. That's the information NASA had.
I'm not splitting hairs, but at times like this, it's typical of the media...in this case, MSNBC, to hype the known information into conspiratorial, intentional, misdeeds on the part of NASA.
I urge restraint. Especially since NASA commissioned the outside engineering group to study the ramifications of the take-off problem on re-entry safety. They weren't ignoring a possibly serious problem. And it's not as if they had the information right after take-off and callously allowed the flight to continue knowing the astronauts might die upon re-entry.
And we certainly don't know information was withheld from the astronauts.
I watched Jay Barbree restate what he had found out this morning, about the memo. What Barbree said and what MSNBC anchors (and IMUS), imply by their questions, are two different things.
Yes, let's all keep in mind that Barbree's an expert, while the MSNBC anchors and Imus don't know any more about the shuttle program than any of us (excepting the several true NASA Freepers that we have, of course).