Nasa to sell space food, shuttle tiles to schools and universities

[Char_Azn]

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US space agency is offering schools and universities a special deal on astronaut cuisine and heat tiles from the now extinct space shuttles, just over US$20 (S$24) a pack, Nasa said on Monday.

'The lightweight tiles protected the shuttles from extreme temperatures when the orbiters re-entered the Earth's atmosphere,' Nasa said in a statement.

'The food, which was precooked or processed so that refrigeration is unnecessary, is ready to eat or could be prepared simply by adding water or by heating.' Since the items are government property, the price to mail them was set at US$23.40 for a package of Tiles For Teachers and US$28.03 for a three-pack of food items, 'Space Food for Schools.'

Each shuttle had about 21,000 lightweight heat shield tiles to protect the spacecraft from searing heat which could reach 1,650 deg C. As part of the offer, Nasa posted online a series of three different age-appropriate lesson plans for children seven to 18, but none contained a mention of the 2003 shuttle Columbia disaster.

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/TechandScience/Story/STIStory_712381.html

Will ST follow their example and start selling Combat Rations?

 

[refulgence]

NASA must be hard up for funds.

 

[Cestbon]

NASA must be hard up for funds.

US$20 a pack for one meal in school. NASA really need some cash. US can spend few hundred $$billion but cannot afford to spend less than $5b/year for NASA.

 

[singveld]

Will ST follow their example and start selling Combat Rations?

man, i badly want to eat the old army dog biscuits, i love them.

 

[halsey02]

man, i badly want to eat the old army dog biscuits, i love them.

Are you daft?, I gave them to my dog, took one sniff & walked away. In Taiwan, I exchanged them with the natives for RICE, and they fed them 'dog biscuits' to the swines!:p