Just before it disintegrated, space shuttle Columbia experienced ... that the thermal tiles that protect the shuttle from burning up during re-entry may have been damaged on Jan. 16.

When Space Shuttle Columbia ... to the safety of the orbiting shuttle and its crew. As is all too well known, two weeks later Columbia disintegrated upon reentry into Earth's atmosphere.

The shuttle’s skin contracts slightly while in orbit, then expands during reentry. In addition ... are particularly vulnerable to strikes from space debris. About 30 to 100 tiles are replaced ...

Returning to Earth is one of the most dangerous phases of spaceflight, and the Space Shuttle was built to endure it like no other vehicle before. As it re-entered the atmosphere at Mach 25 ...

(CNN) --So long as they work, the white and black tiles that cover NASA's space ... thermal-protection blankets -- some designed to handle the extremely high temperatures of atmospheric re-entry ...

IDTechEx engineers know that re-entering a planet's atmosphere is one of the toughest obstacles spacecraft face. During a ...