Space Shuttle thermal protection system
On February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle "Columbia" was destroyed on reentry due to a failure of the TPS. The investigation team found and reported that the probable cause of the accident was that during launch, a piece of foam debris punctured an RCC panel on the left wing's leading edge and allowed hot gases from the reentry to enter the wing and disintegrate the wing from within, leading to eventual loss of control and breakup of the shuttle.
Columbia County, Washington
Columbia County is one of the most conservative counties in Washington State. It has not been carried by a Democrat for President since Lyndon Johnson's 1964 landslide victory, and the last time it backed a Democrat for Governor was as far back as 1936 when Clarence D. Martin swept every county in the state. Popular, conservative Democratic Senator "Scoop" Jackson did carry the county during four consecutive county sweeps (the last in 1982), but since then it has been powerfully Republican in those contests too.