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Author
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Topic: 260787324389: Shuttle Thermal Tile
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Spaceguy5
Member Posts: 427
From: Pampa, TX, US
Registered: May 2011
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posted 05-21-2011 11:50 PM
   
Anyone else notice this? The bottom of the tile looks about right, but the finish and texture on the black part looks off to me and is also of a shape I've never seen before. There's obviously no identification number on the tile. Plus, the seller's story is extremely fishy. I'm not quite sure what to think of it. I have a 5"x5" black and white shuttle tile off of a shuttle that was never launched due to mechanical problems. I don't know the name of the shuttle or anything like that or the date is was to launch (it's been at least a few years) my memory just isn't that great. It measures 5" long by 5" wide and at the taller part of the tile it's 2.5" and the shorter end is 1.5" tall and a "22" is imprinted into the white side. These particular black and white tiles this size are quite rare to come by. No this is not a scam, a relative of mine owned the manufacturing company of the tiles and he gave some of us one each, we did not receive any documentation or paperwork of any kind on it though. However, it is not difficult to determine this is, in fact, authentic. I've kept it very carefully stored since. There is one knick on corner of the black part with white showing through. |
Lunar rock nut
Member Posts: 911
From: Oklahoma city, Oklahoma U.S.A.
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 05-22-2011 07:10 AM
No doubt it is an authentic tile. However It was not flown or taken off of a shuttle there is no numbers on it. More than likely pulled from production and given to him with a beefed up explaination to make it seem special. The price is to high as there have been several that sold within the last year for around $100.00. |
GACspaceguy
Member Posts: 2475
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 05-22-2011 08:17 AM
I agree, I have a non flown tile that I display in my office that I picked up on eBay for $60. |
canyon42
Member Posts: 238
From: Ohio
Registered: Mar 2006
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posted 05-22-2011 09:45 AM
Just curious--I have a non-flown tile that I got through the "give-away" for teachers/schools. Are the coding numbers on it related to its intended placement on the shuttle? And if so, is there a source that would help me identify that? It would be nice to be able to show the kids where "their" tile was meant to go on the craft. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-22-2011 09:51 AM
Yes, and see: Locating Space Shuttle Tiles by Number |
canyon42
Member Posts: 238
From: Ohio
Registered: Mar 2006
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posted 05-22-2011 11:28 AM
Perfect--thanks. I'll check it out tomorrow back at school. |
Spaceguy5
Member Posts: 427
From: Pampa, TX, US
Registered: May 2011
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posted 05-22-2011 12:38 PM
You can also find some maps of tile locations here although sadly they aren't numbered. I wish NASA would release a copy of their tile placement chart, maybe someone could get it through FOIA. On the tiles for teachers page, they have a link to it. But it's dead. I recently bought some flown AFRSI and I'm trying to figure out exactly where it's located. Based on those charts and its shape, I'd guess it's by the payload bay doors. I'm thinking about filing a FOIA to find out more.It's ridiculous how much uneducated buyers will pay on eBay. A few weeks ago, I found a numbered tile with lots of damage and the seller advertised it as being in "flown condition" (Then at the bottom of the page in much smaller text, they revealed they didn't think it was flown but that it was just damaged as if it was flown). It went for $400+. |
Spaceguy5
Member Posts: 427
From: Pampa, TX, US
Registered: May 2011
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posted 05-25-2011 05:00 PM
Apparently their price is based off of a 1x1.5x.5 inch triangular piece of tile that they saw sold for $84 o.O I feel bad for whoever bought that, as you can find those on many other sites for $30, or even get a 3x3x.5 inch one from the KSCVC for $15. |
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