[thinking]

If tiles were falling off, they will have an infrared signature and specialized satellites would confirm the observation...

[js1138]

If tiles were falling off, they will have an infrared signature and specialized satellites would confirm the observation...

If I recall correctly, the Challenger investigation took many months, perhaps a year, and NASA resisted the o-ring theory right up until congressional hearings. At one of the hearings, physicist Feinman made his point by soaking a peice of o-ring material in his glass of ice water and demonstrating how brittle it became.

[eno_]

Just the color of the light given off by heating the debris in the atmosphere should tell whether it is silica from the tiles or aluminum from the wing itself, or both.