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.
STS-118
This was the first flight of "Endeavour" since STS-113 in November 2002, which was also the last successful shuttle flight before STS-107 which culminated in the loss of "Columbia" when it disintegrated during reentry. STS-118 pilot Charles Hobaugh had been the entry team CAPCOM for STS-107. "Columbia" would have been chosen for this mission, for what would have been its 29th mission, and its first and likely its only mission to the ISS.