(i) Each shuttle is covered by more than 24,000 of the six- by six-inch advance ceramic tiles. This tiles withstand high temperatures without decomposing. They are brittle, water-resistant and electrical insulator. Most of the tiles are made of silica fibres, which are produced from high-grade sand (SiO2).
(ii) Silica is an excellent insulator because it transports heat slowly. When the outer portion of a tile gets hot, the heat takes a long time to work its way down through the rest of the tile to the shuttle’s skin. The tiles keep the orbiter’s aluminium skin at 350 degrees or less.
(iii) The silica fibers are mixed with water and chemicals, and the mixture is poured into molds, which are zapped in microwave ovens at 2,350°C to fuse the silica fibres. Tiles are too brittle to attach to the orbiter directly.
(iv) The shuttle’s skin contracts slightly while in orbit, then expands during re-entry.
(v) In addition, the stresses of launch and re-entry cause the skin to flex and bend. Such motions could easily crack the tiles or shake them off. To keep them in place, workers glue the tiles to flexible felt-like pads, then glue the pads to the orbiter.
