Kevin R. Kregel Steven W. Lindsey Winston E. Scott Kalpana Chawla Takao Doi Leonid K. Kadenyuk
Launch:
November 19, 1997
Landing:
December 5, 1997
Duration:
15 days, 16 hours
Comment:
Flew the U.S. Microgravity Payload (USMP-4)
This tile was removed from Columbia during a routine post- flight inspection. It may and is likely to have flown on prior missions to STS-87. To protect the orbiter from heat during reentry, Lockheed Missles and Space Company developed an insulation designed to survive at least 100 spaceflights. These thermal protection tiles were made from basic silica material that can shed heat so quickly, it can be held in a bare hand while still red hot. Nearly 31,000 tiles of thermal insulation - each of a different size, shape and thickness - are used to protect the body of each of the shuttle orbiters.
