[El Gato]

Did the original shuttle design include foam insulation?

Yes it did, many missions were flown with the earlier foam. However many of those also flew with white paint covering the foam. Maybe the paint helped smooth the airflow over the foam?

[eraser2005]

Yes it did, many missions were flown with the earlier foam. However many of those also flew with white paint covering the foam. Maybe the paint helped smooth the airflow over the foam?

Sorry, but that is VERY wrong. STS-1 and STS-2 were the only shuttle flights to ever have a painted external tank. From STS-3 on, the tank was unpainted. 2 of 114 does not sound like many to me. While the new foam may have problems, the large chunks that came off on this flight and on Columbia were both OLD foam which used freon. This is a case of mismanagement, pure and simple. EPA regulations have not been to blame. But lets not bother to use any facts... its much simpler that way.