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Old August 13th 07, 08:15 AM posted to sci.space.history,sci.space.policy
Henry Spencer
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Posts: 2,170
Default Shuttle damage pierces tile.

In article ,
Sylvia Else wrote:
"In a stroke of luck, they're right beneath the aluminum framework for
the right wing, which would offer extra protection during the ride back
to Earth."
Given that the aluminium (yanks don't know how to spell) would melt...


It's not as easy to melt the aluminum (or even aluminium :-)) as you might
think. Although the point where it loses an unacceptable amount of
strength due to heat is fairly low (rather lower than the melting point!),
its thermal conductivity is quite high, so in a case like this, nothing
much happens until a fairly large mass of metal reaches that temperature.
There are limits, but this *is* good luck.
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