" my home , science , after a great mission to bring the international space station to full peak , " wrote an airplane , jerry zamka , radioing from the launch analysis centers in houston , texas . nasa tested an experimentation tile under the columbia ' s left wing during its climb for landing . the floor was almost eight centimetres thick , and had a lump in it , expected to disturb the otherwise turbulent nozzle over the exploration ' s surface , possibly converting it to high amounts of steam . researchers installed the tile in order to measure the excessive heat that was generated on adjacent tiles . a military airplane monitored the heat with an infrared camera . the findings will be analyzed to help determine best designs for future spaceships .
Houston is George Zamka's hometown.