Mysterious Black Tiles Popular Among Tourists
The Identity: Heat-Resistant Tiles Coated on the Starship
The Essence of Space Technology Inheriting NASA's Legacy
SpaceX, the space development startup led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has a massive base near the coast of Texas. Every time large rockets like Falcon 9 and Starship fly through the sky here, mysterious materials are washed ashore by the waves. Residents living nearby, as well as SpaceX fans, are flocking to the sea to collect these materials.
On the 21st (local time), a U.S. netizen reported finding an unidentified black tile piece on the coast near Texas' Star Base. Photos of the tile piece posted on X show that the exterior is coated black, but the inside is a white metal hexagonal tile. The tile was washed ashore and embedded in the sandy beach by the waves. Several nearby residents have also found similar tiles.
Star Base is SpaceX's "spaceport." It is equipped with various infrastructures including rocket launch pads, and SpaceX's representative rockets like Falcon 9 and Starship take off into space from here.
So what is the black material that falls into the sea every time a rocket crosses the sky? The identity is a "thermal tile." All SpaceX rockets have thermal tiles attached to the outer body before launch, and it is presumed that some tiles fell into the sea while flying with powerful thrust.
Thermal protection is a core technology in rocketry. It is especially important when building "reusable rockets" like SpaceX's that pass through the atmosphere multiple times. If the rocket body is exposed too frequently to the extreme frictional heat of the atmosphere, not only the external body but also internal mechanical parts can wear out faster.
The identity of this tile is the heat shield of the Starship. The front fuselage of the Starship revealed last year. Photo by X Capture
In the past, NASA first developed thermal tiles when creating the space shuttle capable of atmospheric re-entry, and SpaceX has "inherited" this technology to complete more advanced thermal tiles.
Last year, when SpaceX unveiled the massive rocket Starship, they revealed a bit of the secret behind these black tiles. Previously, two thermal tiles were coated on the rocket's surface to enhance thermal protection, but now a single thin coating alone can withstand the frictional heat of atmospheric re-entry.
Thermal tiles from NASA's Space Shuttle era (left) and SpaceX's thermal tiles. Screenshot from Hacker Day website.
The thin coating currently attached to Starship is also very important for improving rocket performance. Thermal tiles are filled with fibers inside for heat protection, and applying two layers of such coatings on the rocket increases the weight burden. SpaceX's thermal tile fibers are much thinner than those used during the space shuttle era, and their thermal protection performance is known to be superior.
Thermal tiles that occasionally fall off rockets have become popular collectibles among fans visiting Star Base and nearby residents. A netizen who picked up a piece of thermal tile near Star Base the day before said, "This is a treasure," emphasizing that it is "a piece of humanity's spaceflight history worth keeping forever."
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