tomm@asgb.UUCP (Tom Mackey) (08/19/85)
..... bug fodder ......
After my last posting, I saw a follow-up which implied that the shuttle
was covered with tiles that are quite heavy. ("...looks like the material
seen inside of a kiln.) That was not an exact quote, and it IS true to
some extent, but the point I wish to make is that the silica tile material
is VERY light. The approx. 6in x 6in x 6in tile I have weighs only a few
ounces. I suspect that though the total tile weight is considerable, it is
still a small fraction of the total shuttle weight. To get an idea of small
weight multiplied by large areas, note that the Flying Tigers airfreight
company ordered Boeing 747's sans paint to increase the payload. The shuttle
is not as close to being a flying stone as one might suspect.
Tom Mackey ihnp4!sabre!\
hplabs!sdcrdcf!-bmcg!asgb!tomm
{ ihnp4, ucbvax, allegra }!sdcsvax!/
Burroughs Distributed Systems Group Boulder, Colorado