During the intermission period between Challenger and Columbia, the Space Shuttle flew many successful missions. However, one of those missions is significant in that it almost ended in failure. That mission was STS-27R, the third flight of Atlantis, carrying a classified payload for the US military. On December 2, 1968, Atlantis launched from Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39B, and during liftoff, one of the heat shield tiles was knocked clean off, and over 700 other tiles were damaged. The payload: a Lacrosse satellite for the NRO. But during reentry, Atlantis survived and successfully landed at Edwards Air Force Base. The tile damage was not anything important, unlike Columbia. It was just an antenna providing extra protection. Sure, Atlantis survived, but at what cost? It needed to undergo extensive repairs, and Atlantis would not fly again until 1989, when it deployed the Magellan probe to Venus.
The title “Death or Consequences” refers to the events of this shuttle mission, “Death” referring to Atlantis being broken up on reentry like Columbia, and “Consequences” referring to Atlantis having to undergo a lot of repairs, with a long-time grounding.
@Arstotzka Sorta. Mostly right. But safety contributed to the program shutdown.