Notable U.S. Human Exploration Space Disasters – Columbia
•Columbia was an unforeseen complication from an overconfident shuttle program once again. During launch, engineers had spotted foam (falling from the external fuel tank insulation) striking the shuttle wing. Management reviewed the launch video and determined the strike was not significant enough to be of concern to the crews safety. NASA was WRONG.
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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Impact-test.jpg second frame 38K
Charles Bolden – Current NASA administrator and 2-shuttle missions astronaut -  always thought the wing was impenetrable to foam, only to find that the section of wing the foam hit was weaker than fiberglass. The location of the foam strike to the wing was only fractions of an inch thick.


Again, the engineers tried to warn there was an issue, only to be overridden. – Explain Surveillance Satellite assets. NRO, etc.
New policies for post launch orbiting imaging was put into place to check for damage after each launch. Full Flip in front of ISS windows.
Tire Pressure Low Indicator then loss of Comm’s shortly after.
Radar Image over Houston.