What Are Those Things Coming Off Of Discovery? Answer: Tyvek!
Left aft SRB camera (13.7 Mb Quicktime movie)
Editor’s Update: Allard Beutel from PAO has confirmed that these are indeed Tyvek covers coming off of the RCS jets.
Editor’s note: just after Discovery cleared the tower several white objects seem to be coming off of the orbiter’s nose and fall close to the vehicle.
Are they pieces of ice? Tyvek RCS covers?
See enlarged screen grab of successive frames.