NASA'S Clock is Ticking

Well it won't be long before Discovery will be coming down. Some one
once posted that it would be a good idea if shuttles could fold in their
wings. Its the underbelly missing or possible tiles coming off that is
the biggest problem,and next is the lead edge of the wings. Angle
hitting the air is critical with an object with wings.(flipping flat
stone effect) I've made stuff using cement(concrete) finished the
surface with fine marble dust(Georgia marble). No seams smooth as a
baby's ass. Can take great heat. I wonder what each of those shuttle
tiles weighs? Bert

On Sat, 6 Aug 2005 09:23:22 -0400, (G=EMC^2
Glazier) wrote:

Well it won't be long before Discovery will be coming down. Some one
once posted that it would be a good idea if shuttles could fold in their
wings. Its the underbelly missing or possible tiles coming off that is
the biggest problem,and next is the lead edge of the wings. Angle
hitting the air is critical with an object with wings.(flipping flat
stone effect) I've made stuff using cement(concrete) finished the
surface with fine marble dust(Georgia marble). No seams smooth as a
baby's ass. Can take great heat. I wonder what each of those shuttle
tiles weighs? Bert

Bert,
Since the tiles are custom cut for each location and vary in thickness from
1 to 5 inches depending on where they are located, they are all different
weights. The ones toward the front are thicker than the ones toward the
rear. The tiles come in 2 different densities, so the weight is given by
the cubic foot of uncut material based on it's density. The tiles used
around the wing's leading edge, nose , landing gears, external tank
interface, umbilical doors, vent doors and vertical stabilizer leading edge
weigh around 21 or 22 lbs per cubic foot of material. The rest of the tiles
weight about 9 to 10 lbs per cubic foot.


-JATO
http://jatobservatory.org

JATO Thanks for that information. I thought the tiles might be kind of
heavy. Did know they have to come in different curvatures,but was
unaware of their thickness. Been going to Florida back yards as gunite
concrete pools are going in. For an extra $500 they finish the pool in
powdered marble I was hoping this could be done for the shuttles
underbelly. Kind of due away with those 20,000 crazy glued tiles. Bert
PS the reason I go to houses with pools going in I hope to find another
Florida meteorite that should be about 8 feet down. Nice to let some
one else do the digging

From Bert:

For an extra $500 they finish the pool in
polished marble I was hoping this could
be done for the shuttles underbelly. Kind
of due away with those 20,000 crazy
glued tiles.

Bert, the use of individual tiles was well reasoned. The shuttle's
airframe undergoes a fair amount if flexing and contorting from the
stresses of launch and reentry. Also it expands and contracts some from
temperature variations. Think of what would happen with a solid
porcelain underbelly.
The tiles are fitted with a slight clearance between
them to allow the whole underbelly to flex and expand/contract without
fracturing anything (hopefully :-)). oc

Hi oc Flexible reinforce concrete is needed. Most sky scrapers
are made with poured concrete,and sway a lot in a hurricane 165 mph
wind. They don't crack. Reality is cement can be made with lots of
different features to fit the job.Saw a sail boat on lake Toho was made
of continuos concrete. Very smooth looking and can't leak.Owner told me
it was easy and fast to build. Its frame was chicken wire shell. This is
exactly like the stucco homes in Huntington Beach are made,and they
stand up to earthquakes Well oc it is just an idea. I like the burn
away material used in capsule rentry the best. Its been proven it works
every time. Beert

G=EMC^2 Glazier wrote:
Hi oc Flexible reinforce concrete is needed. Most sky scrapers
are made with poured concrete,and sway a lot in a hurricane 165 mph
wind. They don't crack. Reality is cement can be made with lots of
different features to fit the job.Saw a sail boat on lake Toho was made
of continuos concrete. Very smooth looking and can't leak.Owner told me
it was easy and fast to build. Its frame was chicken wire shell. This is
exactly like the stucco homes in Huntington Beach are made,and they
stand up to earthquakes Well oc it is just an idea. I like the burn
away material used in capsule rentry the best. Its been proven it works
every time. Beert


Isn't concrete a little too heavy to be using on aircraft and space
vehicles? I've heard of the Spruce Goose and the Flying Wing, but I've
never heard of the Flying Slab!

Double-A