State and federal officials collecting debris from the shuttle have widened their search area after finding one of the craft's heat-resistant tiles near Fort Worth.
He peered down across his body and saw that the blue heat-resistant tiles lining the exterior of his suit had begun to glow red.
The mission is noteworthy due to the severe damage Atlantis sustained to its critical heat-resistant tiles during ascent.
But some engineers said it seemed improbable that a few missing heat-resistant tiles alone could have directly caused such damage to the wing.
The bottom is protected by a thick covering a heat-resistant ceramic tiles.
The cover, which was retrieved, damaged two heat-resistant tiles on the panel.
The underside of the shuttle is covered with heat-resistant ceramic tiles that can take almost as much punishment.
For even higher fees, he would line an oven with authentic Italian refractory, or heat-resistant, tile and clad it with high-quality cut stone.
A second building, where the shuttle's heat-resistant tiles are manufactured, was also severely damaged by the driving rain and pounding winds.
In California, we walked underneath the next shuttle, Challenger, where Rockwell workers were gluing the fragile heat-resistant tiles to its body.