Starship heat tiles under a microscope. A thread 🧵
(Massive thank you to @RGVaerialphotos for handing these tile fragments out to team members!)
1/6👇
(Massive thank you to @RGVaerialphotos for handing these tile fragments out to team members!)
1/6👇
@RGVaerialphotos @SpaceX @ColeWZY @DJEsmeraldMusic Starting off on the ceramic black side. Not much notable on the smoother surfaces. However, on some eroded dimples in the surface, we can see an opening into the tile. 2/6
@RGVaerialphotos @SpaceX @ColeWZY @DJEsmeraldMusic These tiles appear to be made of hundreds of thousands of small fibers. These fibers, and the gaps in them, are probably what allows the tile to absorb and dissipate heat so rapidly. The small chunks you see spread throughout are just sand particles. 3/6
@RGVaerialphotos @SpaceX @ColeWZY @DJEsmeraldMusic Moving over to the white back side, we can see similar, more densely packed fibers. Again, the small chunks here are just sand particles, as I have not cleaned this tile. 4/6
@RGVaerialphotos @SpaceX @ColeWZY @DJEsmeraldMusic Little bonus here, there’s a grey area between where the black ceramic overlaps the white backside. Looking at this area closeup reveals that the black ceramic partially protrudes through here. Not really anything notable though. 5/6
@RGVaerialphotos @SpaceX @ColeWZY @DJEsmeraldMusic If there’s any other potential point’s of interest, feel free to leave them in the replies section and I’ll respond with a few photos of the area. 6/6
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