Debris strikes Space Shuttle...

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by Donger

Yes, I know. My point was about having the crew vehicle above all the crap falling off, be it ice or foam.

The point is more that the re-entry surface was protected by being under the capsule and clad by the booster cylinder, as opposed to running the breadth of the shuttle out on the open. But that seems to be the price of a reusable re-entry vehicle with a payload capacity of the shuttle.