[r9etb]

Unless there has been a heavier reentry I couldn't find, STS107 was subjected to about 6% more heat load than any other Shuttle in the history of the program. Other Shuttle flights may have been far more tolerant of any tile damage than this one.

I googled Shuttle landing weight. These are not heavier, but close:

STS-99: 225,669
STS-97: 227,780
STS-50: 228,127

[John Jamieson]

I wonder about the numbers we're using.

STS97 was a ISS mission that brought up big parts, no metion of heavy returning payload, yet we know that Columbia was heavier than Anlantis and was bring back a 20,000 pound Double SpaceHab that itself can be loaded with up to 9,000 pounds of experiments. The numbers don't jive.

Could Columbia have really been pushing 250,000 pounds?