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.
SS Drexel Victory
"Drexel Victory" departed Portland, Oregon for Yokohama, Japan on January 20, 1947. As part of Marshall plan she was loaded with more than 5,000 tons of grain. As she streamed down the Columbia River she struck the Columbia Bar hard and began breaking up between in her middle, between cargo holds 4 and 5. Captain Canute Rommerdahl was operating the ship for Olson & Company under the U.S. Maritime Commission. What the "Drexel Victory " hit is still a mystery as the charts for the area she hit recorded the channel at 57 feet deep. "Drexel Victory" water line was only at a depth of 30 feet. But, shifting sand bars are known to happen anytime. A large swell could have put her on a bar. She may have struck a submerged shipwreck. She was refloated and towed to sea by the USCGC Onondaga (WPG-79), but she sank 5 miles from Cape Disappointment due west of buoy #6. She lays at about 210 feet under the surface water at Latitude: 46.31232. Longitude: -124.1596. The "Drexel Victory" was abandoned without loss of life in the fog and darkness. The US coast guard reported the ship sank at 3:35 AM. The lifeboats were lowered and the crew of 30 loaded boarded as the ship started to break up. The US coast guard picked up the crew 2 hours later with the ship "USCGC Triumph". The crew and lifeboats were found near the SS "Columbia" by a river pilot schooner. Columbia river pilots ship program started in 1846, to help ships safety cross the treacherous Columbia River Bar. The Liberty ship SS "Joseph Gale" picked up some of the crew before the US coast guard ship arrived.