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A traditional Japanese pottery and toy manufacturer Tamiya have joined forces
to develop heat-dissipating tiles for HOPE, Japan’s uncrewed space shuttle. The
tiles are made of a natural stone and polystyrene foam, fired in a kiln for
several days. Their relative density is about half that of the tiles used in the
American space shuttle, and their melting point of 1700 °C is 200 °C
higher. HOPE is due to launch in 2003.