[Fitzcarraldo]

What caused the insulation to break off in the first place?

[kattracks]

Maybe this.

The report went on to speculate as to why the foam dropped off. As it turned out, to be environmentally friendly, NASA had eliminated the use of Freon in foam production, Mr. Katnik reported. The Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., later concluded that the absence of Freon led to the detachment of the foam.

[Fitzcarraldo]

Don't know about you, but to me those OMS pod tiles look awful beat up. There are some really nasty gouges and pits. Here is a medium res view, click on link for hi-res.

Click here for hi-res image (700K)