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According to this MIT lecture (1:46:55) STS-4 was struck by a hailstorm while on the pad, damaging the surface of the orbiter's TPS tiles and allowing them to absorb several hundred pounds of water. They decided to launch anyhow (it was an early flight with a light payload) and the orbital dynamicist could detect perturbations in the orbit due to thrust from the water evaporating. This would make an interesting addition to the article if we can find a good reference. So far, all I've found are news stories about the hail damage to STS-117 which make a passing reference to STS-4 also being damaged by hail. -- 124.157.218.5 (talk) 12:08, 14 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]
