NASA Photo

Minor damage to two heat-resistant tiles on the underbelly of Endeavour, not far from the starboard main landing gear doors. This chip was caused by a chunk of material (Possibly insulation foam, or ice. The actual material may never be positively identified) from the External Tank (ET) which tore loose, and ricocheted off an ET strut. The news media blew this little thing up all out of proportion, dubbing it a gouge, and trying to make it appear to be a life threatening situation. After thorough ground testing, engineers deemed it unimportant enough to ignore during re-entry. They were proven correct when Endeavour landed on 22 August little the worse for wear.

NASA Photo

P-6 Forward Radiator retraction high atop ISSy. Astronaut Rick Mastracchio, designated EVA-1, seen at lower center wearing the spacesuit with the red stripes.

NASA Photo

Canadian Astronaut Dave Williams on EVA, STS-118. Here he is seen on the end of Canadarm 2, with a replacement Control Moment Gyro unit in his hands. This device weighs around 600 pounds on Earth, but on orbit is much more easily manipulated. Make no mistake, however, it still retains its mass, and must be handled with extreme care.

NASA Photo

Canadian Astronaut Dave Williams on EVA. Participating in three of the four EVAs of STS-118, he set a spacewalk record for Canadians during his flight aboard Endeavour.

NASA Photo

Hurricane Dean in the Caribbean Sea. During Endeavour's final days of docked operations with ISSy, Dean posed sufficient threat to Houston Mission Control Center that the STS-118 mission was cut short by a day to get the Astronauts home before the hurricane might come ashore in Texas. As it turned out, Dean diverted south and slammed into Mexico, causing loss of life and considerable damage.

NASA Photos - Prepared by CollectSpace

These pictures are a comparison between how the damaged tiles looked when first discovered whilst Endeavour was on orbit, and after landing safely back at Kennedy Space Center. There is some difference, but actually very little. The engineering tests were right on the spot with their predictions as to how the chipped area would fare during the heat of reentry. There is very little erosion, and the underlying red felt layer isn't even burned!

STS-118 Commander Scott Kelly on actually seeing the damage for himself after exiting the spacecraft, commented that it seemed awfully small for such a big fuss. (Not a quote. I paraphrased Kelly's remarks to exemplify his reaction.)

These guys really know what they're doing, and my hat is off to them.