Bird Poop in Space

[lostcarpark]

According to this report, bird droppings on the protective tiles have survived the shuttle Discovery's trip into space. The droppings were first spotted about three weeks ago and have since survived thunderstorms and the stresses of the orbiter launch. It is expected to burn off during reentry.

Perhaps this could provide a simple solution to the problem of the shuttle's protective tiles being hit by foam from the external tank: spray the entire underbody with a protective coating bird poop before launch...

Comments

Hell ...

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

... if it survives, use it instead of heat tiles! It certainly seems to survive my car windscreen washers!

I reckon that it's probably special bird poop though ... there's a Florida bird (a bit like a whooping crane) commonly known as Foop or Foo bird ... and the reputation of the "Foop Poop" is famous statewide. It's so sticky, invulnerable etc. that people have found that it can strip off paint or bond to clothing fibres so that trying to remove it ruins the surface underneath ... in fact you may have heard Martha Stewart say ... "If the foo shits, wear it" :-)