Elon Musk gifts PM Modi SpaceX’s heatshield tile

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Friday (IST) presented a gift to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, what appears to be a heatshield tile that flew on SpaceX's Starship Test Flight 5 in October last year. The words “Starship Flight Test 5. October 13, 2024" were engraved on the tile.

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PM Modi met billionaire Musk on Thursday at the Blair House in Washington. Musk was accompanied by his three children and partner Shivon Zilis.

The SpaceX's Starship’s tile presented to the PM is reportedly designed to protect the spacecraft from extreme heat encountered during atmospheric re-entry as it makes its way back to Earth.

Last year in October, SpaceX launched its Starship vehicle from South Texas. This mission is particularly notable for successfully capturing its Super Heavy booster at the launch site, marking a significant achievement in aerospace technology.

On the occasion, PM Modi also gifted Musk's children three Indian classic books - "The Crescent Moon" by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, The Great RK Narayan Collection and Pandit Vishnu Sharma's Panchatantra.

Taking to micro-blogging site X, the PM said, “Had a very good meeting with Elon Musk in Washington DC. We discussed various issues, including those he is passionate about such as space, mobility, technology and innovation. I talked about India's efforts towards reform and furthering 'Minimum Government, Maximum Governance.”

"It was also a delight to meet Mr Elon Musk's family and to talk about a wide range of subjects," the PM added.

Earlier, both had met in 2015 when the PM visited the Tesla facility in San Jose and was given a personal tour by the Tesla CEO.