A lot of news sources are seizing on the broken piece of insulation at launch as a possible cause of the problem. I know what the insulation is made of, and I know what carbon-carbon is made of, and it seems unlikely to me that that much damage could be done to the leading edge by falling insulation. My 2 cents, but better men than I are going to rehash that.

Still, I watched the NASA guys today, and you could tell this was gnawing at them. And I did not see a bunch of guys trying to figure out how to cover their asses.

I saw a bunch of engineers. And I listened to them. And I know what they were feeling. Those of us who have designed and built things, and seen them fail, know the feelings that haunt us in the Hour of the Wolf: "What did I do wrong? What did I miss? What should I have done?"

Been there, but thank God so far never at the cost of a life. Don't know if I could handle that.