[norton]

Regarding angles -
I've only seen shuttle landings from the landing site (Edwards) so can't address way-high maneuvers but even in the last minutes and down in heavy air the thing points all over the place as it burns off momentum and altitude. I'd lay more concern on the attitude thrusters firing as that would suggest it was already out of control.
Re speed -
When the foam hit the wing the bird was not moving all that fast, something about inertia, force needed to start (lift) a heavy object, etc. Seriously doubt it'd torque the wing OR dislodge a tile except in freak happenstance. Do not know make up of the foam but it's surely not what comes in your sterio carton.
Re images -
I'm pretty sure we have not given up ability to photograph in near space simply because that's where ICBMs come from. I do remember clear shots of orbiters as they came into California during earlier flights.
Also, FOX is showing amateur video of something coming off the shuttle far west of the last transmission.
And,
My boss watched it come over So Cal and immediately decided it was breaking up at that time. That was straight middle aged human vision - not rocket science.

[null and void]

(I) Do not know make up of the foam but it's surely not what comes in your sterio carton.

I'm not sure either, but suppose a patch was saturated with condensation/rain water then frozen solid by the cyrogenic propelants. The expansion on freezing might start to jack it off the external tank, and the stresses of lift off break in free.

The wing could have been struck by a heavy chunk of foam reinforced ice...