# Another shuttle question: don't they NEED those space fillers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 3, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-shuttle-question-dont-they-need-those-space-fillers/315422 "2005-08-03T14:31:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-shuttle-question-dont-they-need-those-space-fillers/315422/1 "2005-08-03T14:31:08Z")
I heard a woman on TV saying something to the effect of “well, those space fillers make it so that plasma doesn’t run down in between the tiles” and I’ve heard, “they serve as cushions between tiles so they don’t knock together”. But, they seem much more concerned about odd air flow over them, than actually having the darn things serve their purpose. Basically all I’ve heard about is how the protruding things can cause danger, but I’ve heard nothing about the risks associated with removing them. Am I missing something? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-shuttle-question-dont-they-need-those-space-fillers/315422/2 "2005-08-03T14:40:10Z")
I doubt the filler is needed to prevent plasma from running down between the tiles. At 15,000 mph, there’ll be a strong tendency for laminar flow over the tile surface, unless something is sticking up. They probably use the fillers to get the tile spacing right, to prevent bumping, and to keep rain from getting down into the cracks. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-shuttle-question-dont-they-need-those-space-fillers/315422/3 "2005-08-03T15:04:06Z")
According to [this AP report:](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/space_shuttle;_ylt=Ajp8dV_lwBiq7o7umnLJAOMYAjMB;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl) > [@](#): > > There are 24,300 glass coated tiles on the shuttle, a majority of them on its belly. The tiles protect the shuttle from the extreme temperatures in orbit and, more importantly, insulate the ship during launch and re-entry. > > The filler material protects the tiles from bumping against one another during launch, but isn’t needed for landing because of the difference in the airflow. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-shuttle-question-dont-they-need-those-space-fillers/315422/4 "2005-08-03T15:07:43Z")
> [@](#): > > The filler material protects the tiles from bumping against one another during launch, but isn’t needed for landing because of the difference in the airflow. Just the same, wouldn’t it make more sense to try and push it back into place rather than remove it? Who would have thunk that space travel could be so dangerous? ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-shuttle-question-dont-they-need-those-space-fillers/315422/5 "2005-08-03T15:07:58Z")
Next time, they need to use Hebrew National Tiles. No fillers. I’m looking forward to the day that it takes a quarter million people to prep the shuttle for launch. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-shuttle-question-dont-they-need-those-space-fillers/315422/6 "2005-08-03T15:15:55Z")
Würst pun of the day, **Philster**. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-shuttle-question-dont-they-need-those-space-fillers/315422/7 "2005-08-03T15:23:07Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Next time, they need to use Hebrew National Tiles. No fillers. > > I’m looking forward to the day that it takes a quarter million people to prep the shuttle for launch. At least it’s an interim use for the space station. A place to station someone to examine the shuttle to see if its in shape for reentry. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-shuttle-question-dont-they-need-those-space-fillers/315422/8 "2005-08-03T15:24:24Z")
> [@adam yax](#): > > Just the same, wouldn’t it make more sense to try and push it back into place rather than remove it? I would imagine that this poses the risk of it popping back out again at an inconvenient moment. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-shuttle-question-dont-they-need-those-space-fillers/315422/9 "2005-08-03T16:30:47Z")
The AP source quoted above gets a “close but not quite” rating. The tiles aren’t coated with glass - at least not glass like you’d make a window from. The tiles are a silica material and are better described as blocks. The ones on the belly are around 4" thick. They’re also rather fragile. The concern with the fillers sticking out is that they could cause chaotic airflow rather than laminar flow. Chaotic flow might lead to unpredictable over-heating. The problem with all of this is that the physics to describe all of this are wildly difficult. I can’t remember who it was, but I saw a quip in the paper yesterday about a scientist who stopped working on this subject and went to quantum mechanics because QM is so much easier.