[Terriergal]

yeah... and of course they're going to publicly say that the loss of the insulation isn't going to be a problem.. because there's nothing to be done about it except carry out the mission. Can you imagine them saying as we watch it going up "whoops we see a piece of the insulation has fallen off... that means they will be burnt to a crisp on reentry, folks."

[Tree of Liberty]

because there's nothing to be done about it

If the insulation that hit the wing was known to cause a problem on re-entry, at the very least the astronauts could have sought refuge in the space station and ditched the shuttle, or stay up there while the Atlantis or Endeavor goes up to effect repairs.