While watching the space walk to remove the gap fillers, you could see the difference between new tiles, which were dark black, and older tiles that showed the streaking caused by the heat of reentry. I was wondering, how do they replace a sigle tile surrounded by undamaged tiles? How do you get it out? Presumably, it is cemented in place so it won’t tear out during reentry, and getting it out seems kind of like trying to remove the first piece from the middle of a sheet cake. I know they are very brittle; do they just dig it out in pieces?
You just go down to the neighborhood Home Depot. There’s one conveniently located near you — less than 45 minutes, from low-earth orbit. Bring a sample tile, and the friendly customer representative will match the color and size while you wait!
Allow 7 to 10 business days for delivery. Meanwhile, don’t hold your breath.