" greeting home , nasa , after a incredible mission to bring the worldwide space station to such power , " said an astronaut , george zamka , radioing from the mission direction central in houston , texas . astronauts tested an experimental slate under the pioneer ' s left wing during its approach for arrival . the board was almost eight centimetres thick , and had a bump in it , conceived to affect the otherwise uneven airflow over the shuttle ' s wing , thus exposing it to high amounts of steam . engineers installed the tile in order to test the generated warmth that was generated on downstream tiles . a private pilot monitored the heat with an array camera . the findings will be used to helps determine better designs for future shuttles .
Houston is George Zamka's hometown.