[Lady Jag]

Whatever 'fell off' on takeoff, if it struck the shuttle, would have hit the left underside (see pix/videos). Re-entry warnings were tires and left wing. Same side.

[patriot5186]

Yes..that is certainly the speculation. From the briefing it sounded like NASA didn't consider the impact to the tiles a safety issue...it sounded like they didn't even look at them. Is that correct?
God bless the courageous astronauts and their families!

[spokanite]

I listened to the news conference a little while ago and, for the life of me, no one has asked the question that I would have asked. Why didn't they dock the shuttle at the space station to take a look at the possible damage caused by the foam that hit the wing in takeoff.

Maybe this question has come up earlier in this conversation, but I sure would like to know the reasons why. At the news conferece, they said it couldn't be repaired, plus they didn't have the arm installed on this shuttle for them to explore the possible damage. If there was the slighted question about the damage, why didn't they send it to the space station? Why take the risks?