Like Joe, the space quest is also an interest of mine.
Until we know for sure, anything said would be speculation.
There was a piece of insulating foam (from the main tank, which holds liquid hydrogen and oxygen, and keeps it cold) that came off, and bounced off of the left wing.
It was the third time in a row that it happened. However... the ground crew assesed it as non-threatening to flight safety. Maybe they were right, maybe not.
In the mean time, all flights are cancelled, until the cause of the disaster is understood.
What is known is that there was a hydraulic failure detected, possibly an overheat condition on the left wing, loss of some non-critical sensors, then complete loss of contact, at 8h16am central time at which point, the shuttle Columbia was at an altitude of slightly more than 200'000 feet (~8 miles), speed of over 12'000 mph ( > mach 18), and at that critical re-entry point, where things get the hottest.
I don't believe that the age of the orbiter had anything to do with it.
I believe that they will have to put in place a procedure by which they examine the shuttle's tiles, and make repairs, before re-entry. If that's the case, flights will be on hold for many months.
In the mean time, the Russians can keep re-supplying the ISS (International Space Station).
The purpose of the flight was strictly scientific, and was not related to the ISS. Some data from the science experiments was transmitted to the ground, some was not.
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