Starship heat shield tiles being sold for thousands on eBay

Pieces of SpaceX starships that exploded after launch are up for sale on eBay, but the prices are astronomical.

Heat shield tiles from Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship were being sold on eBay for hundreds and thousands of dollars. Those pieces are the hexagonal ceramic tiles — part of SpaceX’s Thermal Protection System — that help keep the exterior cool while entering Earth’s atmosphere.

“I found two tiles at Isla Blanca (the southern jetties) while fishing,” one seller wrote under a heat shield tile on eBay. “One was completely broken (which I’m keeping) and this tile is fully complete.”

The heat shield tile was about $4,500 if a person bought it earlier in the week, but the price was set to decrease to $1,000 Saturday.

One seller spoke with Futurism, stating SpaceX allowed the person to ship or keep the heat shield tile after notifying the company by email.

Some eBay sellers wrote in the descriptions that they found the heat shield tiles in Mexico after pieces were floating in the Gulf of Mexico. There are other prices for more than $800, $900 and $1,000 for some heat shield tiles.

SpaceX had two rockets launched and exploded last year from South Texas. In April 2023, the engines of the world’s most powerful rocket exploded about four minutes after liftoff after failing to separate from the Starship spacecraft. In another attempt later that year, the rocket was launched and successfully separated from the Starship spacecraft but still exploded in the Gulf of Mexico while attempting to land.

This month, SpaceX attempted another launch going farther than earlier flights before ultimately losing both vehicles in explosions.

Some people even kept a piece of the spacecraft, including one Reddit user who obtained a heat shield tile about 6 miles from the launch site and posted their excitement to the Space Master Race community.

It is unclear which pieces belong to which spacecraft, but some sellers have placed which year they obtained the heat shield tiles.

Some of the tiles seemed to be from the recent launch in March.

SpaceX has not provided a statement.

Jon Shapley/Staff photographer The Starship spacecraft, atop the Super Heavy rocket, lifts off on March 14 in Boca Chica. Pieces of SpaceX starships that exploded after launch are up for sale on eBay.