Shuttle's Insecurity Blanket

After everything that's gone wrong with the space shuttle, you'd think that NASA would come up with a better word than "blanket" to describe the thermal material that helps protect the shuttle --especially now that there's a "gap" in said blanket on the shuttle Atlantis that seems at least a little worrisome. I'm assuming that whatever this material is, it provides more protection than a down comforter, but it would be nice if the descriptive term was a little more substantial.