Any Shuttle Experts out there...
Was the "tiling system" used in Columbia standard across all shuttles? I seem to recall something about later shuttles using a better matting system?
I note from C4 news that the original tile repair kits used on Columbia have been discontinued due "cost cutting". Just the sort of thing airship has been suggesting, although even if tile loss caused this after being hit by the tank section, no guarantees such a kit would have coped with whatever damage might have occurred....
NoD