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-114
STS-114 was the first "Return to Flight" Space Shuttle mission following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. "Discovery" launched at 10:39 EDT (14:39 UTC), 26 July 2005. The launch, 907 days (approx. 29 months) after the loss of "Columbia", was approved despite unresolved fuel sensor anomalies in the external tank that had prevented the shuttle from launching on 13 July, its originally scheduled date.