From: jvorbrueggen-not@mediasec.de   
      
   >>No, it wasn't ice shedding - a piece of insulation came loose, and the   
   >>mechanism by which it came loose is still not fully understood, it appears.   
   >>In addition, a retrospective study showed that a significant fraction -   
   >>more than 10% of all flights, IIRC - had similar problems but had got   
   >>lucky in that the loose pieces hit less vulnerable areas or not at all.   
    >   
   > AIUI, it was foam with an ice layer on. Is this correct?   
      
   No water ice - that's checked before launch. IIRC, there was speculation   
   that the foam might have contained liquid nitrogen liquified from the   
   surrounding air. I don't know whether that has ever been settled.   
      
   	Jan   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)