(2) the foam hit the structure that mates the shuttle to
Awesome point, given explosives involved with separation of external devices. Judging by the comments of some thread participants, chances are someone intimately understands the explosive bolt wiring harness route.
Ordinarily I would have guessed such a wiring harness is adequately shielded from such an event. However, I recall an anti-lock brake failure on my car, due to road debris striking a wiring harness.
LOL, OneLoyalAmerican! I'll be sure to tell my hubby that you endorse his theory of the case!
We'll have to wait for the conclusion of the investigation, and its report. I feel confident that NASA is conducting regression analyses of a variety of different scenarios, as we speak. At the end of the day, I believe we will have the truth of the matter.
Meanwhile, newbie, we're just going to have to be patient, while we wait for the jury to weigh in.
Thanks so much for writing!