CORRECTED: SPACE SHUTTLE HEAT SHIELD TILE 6 " X6 " X2 " ENGINEER TEST TILE N. A. R.
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:2830204 |
HRSI TILE had been incorrectly identified in the listing. I had copied from another listed tile without paying attention at all to the fact that though the serial number was similar to mine my research does not confirm the year it was tested or for what vehicle this serial number indicates it would have participated in. Very Sorry for the sloppiness. The collectSpace website has a good article explaining these space shuttle tiles and decoding the serial numbers. If I understand it corr...ectly this one would have been used under the wing area? Although it is a test tile and not one that had flown on missions I got the impression that it could have been on the vehicle when it was flown from North American Rockwell, CA. to Kennedy Space Center, Florida, but again I don't know enough about when this tile was designed and made. I have spent many, many hours researching these tiles, and I am not a collector of space artifacts, but, I did get hooked on learning as much as I could about the artifacts that I inherited, I wanted to know what they were and why they were so important to the men who had collected them since the 1960's that they would will them to one another. It is confusing to the non space collector, but fascinating. It is important that the value of these items is not monetary but valued for what they meant for this country and exploring space. Contradicting that statement, I would not be selling them if they did not have monetary value LOL! I have no documentation for this heat shield I only know it came from the estates of retired North American Rockwell engineers that worked at the Downey location in California. Message me for any questions you may.
