Nonproliferation Legacy Technology and Artifact Collection: NASA Space Shuttle Tiles

Technical Report · Wed May 06 04:00:00 EDT 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1617437· OSTI ID:1617437

Pitts, Todd Alan ^[1]; Bolles, Jason ^[1]; Reynolds, Kristen ^[1]

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1. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

The NASA Space Shuttle Tiles were used by Sandia in the process of developing the Laser Dynamic Range Imager (LDRI) in support of NASA's Return to Flight following the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. The heat shield tiles, provided to Sandia by NASA, are identical to those that were located on the underbelly of the Space Shuttle Columbia's orbiter. Sandia used the tiles to test the efficacy of the LDRI's imaging capabilities. The LDRI was utilized during every space shuttle mission between 2005 and 2011. The tiles are currently located in Building 891 and need to be moved to free up space for operational use. Given their technical significance, Sandia would like to archive them as historically significant items in long-term storage until such time as they can be appropriately displayed or employed as a demonstration artifact. This document provides basic information about the provenance of this artifact.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000; NA0003525
• OSTI ID: 1617437
• Report Number(s): SAND--2020-4329; 685798
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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