r/spaceshuttle • u/LighthouseMoon • 26d ago

Question Space shuttle tile

Gallery image

Gallery image

I got this from a friend maybe 35 years ago. Is anyone able to tell me where on the Shuttle it came from??

412 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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55

u/MattSidor 26d ago

Here’s a good reference page for identifying the tile positions: https://www.collectspace.com/resources/spaceshuttle_tilenumbers.html

VO70-193009-089-008059:

VO70: “V” for vehicle, “O” for orbiter, the Rockwell drawing prefix used across the whole orbiter.

193009: the second six-digit set encodes the location on the vehicle. The 19xxxx block is the wing group, and 193XXX specifically covers the lower elevons.

089: the individual tile position. Every tile was cut to a unique shape, so this pins it to one exact spot.

008059: the serial for that physical part.

So: the underside of an elevon.

20

u/Adventurous_Tear_531 26d ago

Amazing.. once every 10 years or so, reddit is awesome.. thankyou

1

u/LighthouseMoon 22d ago

That was awesome - thanks!!! Fascinating! My dad got it for me from some conference back in maybe 1986 or so.

5

u/Peter_Merlin 26d ago

Even without seeing the back side I'm inclined to suspect it's an unflown tile that was rejected due to damage or defect before being applied to an orbiter.

2

u/hcoverlambda 26d ago

Yeah, no RTV, no discoloration.

2

u/Diligent-Fall-2592 25d ago

Still blows my mind that they were held on by RTV.

1

u/FinalF137 25d ago

Really Tough Velcro?

2

u/the_closing_yak 25d ago

Room temperature vulcanizing silicone, essential the same stuff you'd use for your bathroom tiles

6

u/the_closing_yak 26d ago

Which shuttle is it from?

9

u/RedactedMate 26d ago

The yellow text is laser etched which they did only early into the shuttles history so candidates are Columbia, Challenger, or Discovery.

2

u/Peter_Merlin 25d ago

Based on physical characteristics visible in the photo, this tile was likely not applied to any orbiter. It appears to be unused and was probably rejected due to damage or defect.

1

u/penguinsrule1014 26d ago

The black part is so thin omg

1

u/Martin2979 22d ago

Beautiful piece of real hardware! Congratulations!