People are cashing in on a unique opportunity to own a piece of space history as chunks of SpaceX’s exploded Starship are being sold for thousands of dollars each on eBay. The recovered ceramic heat shield tiles, designed to keep SpaceX’s massive Starship cool during reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere, have become a lucrative secondary market for unique souvenirs.
SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, has attempted to launch three fully-stacked Starship prototypes into orbit so far. The first two attempts ended in massive explosions, scattering roughly 18,000 hexagonal ceramic tiles across the nearby beaches of South Texas each time. The third and latest orbital launch attempt saw the latest prototype make it into space, blast past the continent of Africa, and crash into the Indian Ocean. However, it’s still possible heat shields may have popped off during launch.
Lucky individuals have stumbled upon perfectly preserved heat shield tiles on the beaches near SpaceX’s testing facilities in Boca Chica, Texas. Some have expressed their excitement at being the latest happy owners of fully intact Starship heat tiles. With the possibility of more tiles washing ashore, it’s evident that the secondary market for these unique souvenirs is thriving.
Owners of these rare finds are capitalizing on the opportunity by selling them on eBay for prices ranging from $30 for a broken tile to well over $2,000 for a mostly intact one. Etsy is also teeming with listings for purported pieces of heat shield debris, packaged in small glass bottles. Sellers are optimistic about the potential profits, with one tile listed for a whopping $7,500 on eBay. However, the actual selling price remains unclear. A search of already sold items shows that one tile was sold for $3,395 on Monday.
One eBay seller shared their experience of finding a tile leftover from the company’s latest launch attempt ‘floating in the water near the end of the jetties on South Padre island.’ After notifying SpaceX’s ‘debris reporting hotline and email,’ the seller was given the option to ship the pieces to the company or keep them. Choosing to keep the pieces, the seller has joined the ranks of individuals looking to profit from these unique space artifacts.
