[meteorite-list] Expensive?

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:22:42 2004
Message-ID: <200306261514.IAA00991_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

>
> Hello Ron,
> Is aerogel the material that coats space shuttles? It can withstand great
> temperatures however, a piece the size of a couch weighs less than a loaf of
> bread.
>

You're thinking of the heat tiles on the belly of Space shuttle, but that isn't aerogel.
Aerogel is a good insulator, too. We've used it in the Mars Pathfinder rover and the
two MER rovers for insulation against the cold temperatures on the surface of Mars.
We're also using it on Stardust to capture comet particles. See here for more info:

http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/tech/aerogel.html

Aerogal can be made in various densities.
JPL had made a version of aerogel that was extremely light. About 18 months ago,
I contacted Guiness World Records and submitted a new record for a solid with
the lowest density. Lawrence Livermore had held the previous record with their
aerogel, but the JPL version was even lighter:

http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news93.html

Since aerogel is so light, and expensive to make, its price on a per gram basis
is remarkably high.

Ron Baalke
Received on Thu 26 Jun 2003 11:14:48 AM PDT