Jessica Gagen Instagram – Ever wondered why the space shuttle was black and white? 👇🏼
On re-entry, the space shuttle entered earth’s atmosphere at about Mach 25 (25 times the speed of sound). The friction of re-entry is what was used to slow the shuttle down for landing, the compromise of which being that it was exposed to extreme heat! 🔥
The black and white tiles protected the shuttle from burning up on re-entry. There’s roughly around 24,300 of them on one shuttle, each about 6 inches long and varying in width from about 1-5inches, depending on where they were attached. They’re lightweight and designed to protect the shuttle in different ways 👇🏼
BLACK TILES: Could withstand up to 1260°C, covering the bottom of the shuttle, the nose cone and lining the windows.
WHITE TILES: Larger and thinner than black tiles and primarily for insulation, could withstand up to 650°C.
The two types of tiles are essentially the same, bar coatings and cut, made of a silica, alumina fibre and borosilicate glass composite 🚀
#stem #nasa #ksc #shuttle #atlantis #aerospace #avgeek #spacegeek #aerospaceengineering #space #science #technology #engineering #maths #missengland #missworld | Posted on 17/Jan/2024 00:30:00
