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.
HMCS Columbia (DDE 260)
"Columbia" transferred to the east coast and in 1960 and assigned to the Fifth Canadian Escort Squadron. In August, the ship recovered two crew members of a Tracker aircraft that had crashed at sea south of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The aircraft had been training with "Columbia" and sister ship . She was present for Nigeria's Independence ceremonies at Lagos on 1 November. In March 1961, the destroyer escort was among the ships that took part in a combined naval exercise with the United States Navy off Nova Scotia.