posted 11-29-2012 06:36 PM               

That eBay tile looks to be in very poor condition (I wonder why there's a hole drilled in the front?) but it's obviously unflown (there's no signs of RTV on the back, especially since it still has markings etched in).

Finding a tile — even unused — that doesn't have the corners beat up is nearly impossible.

As for how that tile could legally be in circulation, the only explanations I could think of is it might have signed over to a museum/educational institution (note that tiles recently given to teachers/museums through the recent "Tiles for Teachers" program are not allowed to be given or sold to private individuals. However I'm not sure if that still applies to older tiles given away). If that is the case, it would have included documentation when it was originally shipped.

posted 12-08-2012 10:19 PM            

NASA's OIG agent requested the serial number, and said mine was beyond his investigation.

He stated that after 25 years, it was difficult for NASA to lay claim to tiles; some were gifted without paperwork, sold at auction, and likely, some were outright stolen, etc. (prior to about 1992).

While he definitely made it sound legally tricky. As policy has been "they remain property of the US Government" --- he also said, "the best NASA can do is to educate private citizen about the ITAR restrictions"

... All this was prefaced with "unless the the person in possession of the tile was the one who removed it"