The spill necessitated the removal, decontamination and reapplication of over 300 thermal tiles.

The module had become a fireball, and Alex knew that his life depended on the hundreds of thermal tiles that surrounded him.

She set the carafe on a thermal tile and hitched herself onto the desk to sit aslant from him.

During the night, the crew reported a missing thermal tile around one of the overhead windows of the orbiter.

Exactly 206 minutes into the mission, the Buran orbiter landed, having lost only five of its 38,000 thermal tiles over the course of the flight.

Also retrieved was an eight-foot section that some speculated came from the shuttle's left wing, with dozens of thermal tiles and heat sensors.

So a heat shield made up of special thermal tiles was developed using material processes that are still considered cutting-edge 30 years later.

One woman in suburban Dallas brought in a thermal tile and then asked investigators if she could have it back when they were done.

Small objects, including the thermal tiles, are kept in gray plastic boxes with transparent lids, making it almost impossible to see details.

Some debris gets scooped up with a spoon, like the crushed, powdery thermal tiles.