[dtel]

Well, let's see.
We're gonna run 17,00 MPH through outer space.
Maybe if you have ever stuck your hand out the window at 60+ MPH, you will notice the wind wantss to rip it off.
The same effect works in space.
If the wing was corrupted by the foam, it would have come apart during the sixteen days they were in space.
Was NASa concerned about foam damage?
Yes, indeed.
They admitted right away they were trying to bring it home as SAFELY as possible.
Did the foam pierce the skin?
Not by the evidence found so far.

[Ole Okie]

Maybe if you have ever stuck your hand out the window at 60+ MPH, you will notice the wind wantss to rip it off. The same effect works in space.

If the wing was corrupted by the foam, it would have come apart during the sixteen days they were in space.

You've got to be joking.

Q. How do the astronauts do space walks at 17,000 miles per hour?

A. No atmosphere at orbit altitude. No air. No wind. QED.

[RightWhale]

If the wing was corrupted by the foam, it would have come apart during the sixteen days they were in space.

Sure about that?

[#3Fan]

We're gonna run 17,00 MPH through outer space. Maybe if you have ever stuck your hand out the window at 60+ MPH, you will notice the wind wantss to rip it off. The same effect works in space.

There is no air in outer space so there is no wind resistance. That's why things keep their orbit once in orbit, there's nothing to slow their momentum and so orbiting objects are at an equilibrium of speed and centrifugal force. If tiles were damaged on lift-off, the time this damage would've become critical would be on re-entry because re-entry is when the shuttle attains maximum speed through the atmosphere. Put your hand out the window of a shuttle doing mach 18 in it's orbit and you feel nothing. Put you hand out the window of a shuttle doing mach 18 in the earth's atmosphere and it would be ripped off.