Of course, I'm quite certain the poor creature did not survive the re-entry of the shuttle tank.
Well, it is too bad this happened. But there is no point in making a really big deal out of it compared to all the birds and other animals that get hit by cars, trains, planes, and so forth. This was a much higher-profile thing publicity-wise, and also because it is such a rare thing, but lets not blow it all out of perspective.
In any case, the bat never would have hung on thru the climb into space, never mind re-entry (never mind being unable to breathe in space and the total vacuum of space beyond simply not being able to breathe).
At some point into the launch the bat would have been blown off by the airflow. Surely in the first 30 seconds, if not the first 10 seconds, or first 5 seconds. And the airflow would have pushed the bat... well, lets just say it would have been over REAL fast once the bat came loose.
At KSC, workers were looking for the remains of the bat near the launch site, but have not found anything so far.
Actually it is my understanding that anything alive (or at least humans) within 1/4 mile of a shuttle taking off would be killed by the acoustic overpressure (sound shock waves). They do set off sirens and noisemakers to try to get wildlife scared away at launch time. But nothing is 100% effective.
- George Gassaway