A worker reaches for the door to close the oven with the Boeing Replacement Insulation 18 or BRI-18 tile inside.

In the tile shop at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a worker reaches for the door to close the oven with the Boeing Replacement Insulation 18, or BRI-18, tile inside. The tile will be baked at 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit to cure the ceramic coating, part of the process to prepare the tiles for installation on space shuttles. BRI-18 is the strongest material used for thermal insulation on the orbiters and, when coated to produce toughened unipiece fibrous insulation, provides a tile with extremely high-impact resistance. It is replacing other tiles on areas of the vehicle where impact risk is high, such as the landing gear doors, the wing leading edge and the external tank doors. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann