SILTS Pod on Orbiter Columbia

Orbiter Columbia OV-102 had a unique external feature the "SILTS" pod (Shuttle Infrared Leeside Temperature Sensing), it was located on the top of her vertical stabilizer. It was installed after STS-9 (1984) to acquire infrared and other thermal data on the vehicle’s environment. The instruments were removed after several missions but the pod remained. #ov102 #columbia #spaceshuttle #spaceshuttlecolumbia #nasa #silts #aviationsafari #aviationpreservation #boneyardsafari