What are the windows in the space shuttle made out of?
The windows on the space shuttle are actually made out of aluminum silicate glass and fused silica glass. The orbiter windows are actually three different panes, there’s an interior pressure pane because the pressure inside the orbiter is a lot higher than it is in the vacuum of space. We also have an optical pane that’s installed in the middle that’s about three and a half inches thick and on the outside, there’s a thermal pane that protects the inside of the cockpit from the high heats of ascent and reentry. There are six forward-looking windows, three on the CDR (Commander) side and three on the PLT (Pilot) side. There are two overhead windows that the crew out of especially when docking to the space station they’re using those windows to watch the orbiter approach the space station. And then there are two windows on the aft that look into the payload bay, and depending on our hatch configuration on the inside, there can be anywhere from one to two additional windows, they’re small
