Valkyrie TAV's insulation tiles
 

Did anyone else notice that the Valkyrie TAV uses thermal insulation tiles similar to those we would find on our current space shuttles? Pay attention when the Valkyrie impacts the forest floor during the final battle; what looked like tiles were shaken off of the hull.

The Valkyrie actually seems quite similar to the current space shuttle, at least in basic design. The engines are obviously different, and it is larger, but it does look similar.

Yeah, quite an interesting design. Looks like the Shuttle and C-17 had a baby. :P

It should.
Both are designed for entering an atmosphere from space. Hence the name: trans-atmospheric viehicle(tav)

Indeed. It does need some kind of thermal protection for atmospheric entry.

looks more like a shuttle, a harrier vertical takeoff, and a KC-135 had a baby.

I noticed the tiles too. Pandora has lower gravity and denser atmosphere relative to Earth so the TAV will also experience significantly lower aerodynamic heating. It probably doesn't need as much heating reinforcement as our space shuttle.

They need to operate in Earth's atmosphere as well, for people to get off the ISV on their way back.

The Valkyrie's thermal protection tiles most likely use a high temp silicon adhesive to attach them to the skin of the body much like the space shuttle. Although most silicon adhesives can have a working temp of 400-500 degrees F and the tiles themselves are very light weight, any large shock can still possibly break them loose. Such a clipping a rock arch and slamming into the jungle floor:D

The tiles used on the space shuttle are made from silica ceramic that have been coated with borosilicate which gives the tiles that black semi-gloss look. This thin coating is actually what absorbs the majority of the heat, the silica ceramic tile itself provides an additional buffer to keep the heat of re-entry (upwards of 3000 F) away from the aluminum skin of the shuttle.

The tiles used on the shuttle can dissipate heat very rapidly and be held immediately after glowing red hot:war:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJN0U...eature=related

The thing is, I expected that the thermal insulation on the Valkyrie should be much more advanced than the silicone tiles of our current shuttle that could easily fall off. However, the Valkyrie did hit the forest floor with considerable force.