re: Absolutely superb interactive on the Columbia tragedy.
I find this a little hard to believe that the air once frozen would go from a frozen state to a vapor state that quickly and blow that insulation that far away from the main tank.
I must admit that these guys know a heck of a lot more about these kinds of things than I do so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
Personally I hope they are right for safeties sake, although the Shuttle program is toast.