@ Kennedy Space Center, FL
April 2012
Built by Florida modelmakers Guard-Lee, the replica Space Shuttle “Explorer” is shown here at the Kennedy Space Center before heading West to her new home at the Space Center Houston museum. She had been on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex since 1993. This hi-fidelity replica includes simulated thermal tiles, a critical component of the Shuttle’s Thermal Protection System. Each shuttle is covered by more than 24,000 of these six-by six-inch silica blocks. The tiles keep the orbiter’s aluminum skin at 350 deg F or less when exposed to reentry temperatures of up to 2,300 deg F. These nose/belly tiles have a coating of black glass, reflecting about 90 percent of the heat they’re exposed to back into the atmosphere. Lower temperature tiles on the shuttle’s upper fuselage, deal with lower temperatures of 1,200 deg F and are covered with a whitewash of silica compounds and aluminum oxide.
This replica shuttle was stripped of the name Explorer as part of the dismantling process, prior to the barge trip to Houston. Space Center Houston had also acquired NASA 905, one of NASA’s two modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, and this replica was mounted onto the SCA for display. A competition to name the shuttle opened on July 4, 2013 with over 10,000 entries received, the winning name being “Independence”. Canon G9 photo.
