Shuttle tiles sold on eBay

POLICE are investigating a black market in thermal tiles taken from space shuttles, after a former Nasa engineer was charged with stealing 11 and selling them on eBay.

David Abbey, 50, who worked at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, was arrested after an undercover officer from Nasa's Office of the Inspector General bought one of the tiles on the internet for $921.99 (about 576).

Abbey, who was charged with grand theft and dealing in stolen property, told investigators that it was common for workers to help themselves to tiles that had been removed from the space agency's three shuttles after their voyages.

"I'd just put it in my bag and walk out with it," he said.