[mewzilla]

Why wouldn't they have aborted the launch? Did they do any kind of damage assessment befor the shuttle tried to land? Why would they let the flight continue or not plan for something if they knew about the insulation hitting the wing?

[Lazamataz]

Why wouldn't they have aborted the launch?

They may not have known the extent of the damage until they were already orbiting, or not ever known how badly the shuttle was damaged at all.