I sense that there will inevitably be a growing conspiracy theory about whether NASA chose to ignore the damage to the left wing on launch in favour of a fingers-crossed "it'll be alright on the night" approach. I find this scarcely credible, given the customary attention to detail and precision in all of their activities, and can only conclude that any damage was deemed negligible, because this is what the evidence available indicated. Whether this evidence was sufficient is debatable in the light of subsequent events, but I find myself unable to buy into the "they knew it was doomed" school of "thought" that will doubtless find its ultimate voice in that august scientific journal The National Enquirer