BOZEMAN, MT., September 5, 2003. An automated laser-based scanning system, that could improve the safety of future Space Shuttle missions, is being developed for NASA by Laser Techniques Company of Bellevue, WA. Building on work conducted in 2002 to design and demonstrate a miniature, high-performance laser sensor for the thrusters, Laser Techniques was awarded a contract from NASA to produce a full-scale thruster mapping system.
The prototype sensor was successfully demonstrated to be capable of locating and mapping features, smaller than the head of a pin, to an accuracy of better than 0.0005 inch. When the system is completed, Laser Techniques will send it to NASA's White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico where it will be used in thruster life-testing projects and for routine thruster overhaul and refurbishment activities.
A critical part of the power and guidance systems of Space Shuttle orbiters, these Primary Reaction Control System (PRCS) thrusters must be detached and inspected in great detail at one of two NASA facilities. Even minor flaws in the ceramic lining of a thruster, such as a chip or crack, can cripple the operations of an orbiter in space and jeopardize a mission. Inspection of these thrusters is part of routine preventive maintenance of the orbiters. These inspections are performed at the White Sands facility and the Kennedy Space Center.
NASA is interested in extending the use of Laser Techniques' portable scanning system to on-shuttle applications, enabling inspectors to detect and map flaws in the lining of thrusters while they are still attached to the shuttle. This would be a significant improvement over current visual methods of inspection, which require removal and shipping of thrusters to testing facilities.
"Our objective is to eliminate human error and subjectivity in this critical inspection task. By inspecting the thrusters in situ with our laser-based scanning system, we will increase the efficiency of the inspection process while improving the safe operation of the thrusters," said James L. Doyle, President of Laser Techniques Company.
A technology manager at the Montana State University TechLink center in Bozeman introduced Doyle to researchers at White Sands, where he presented an overview of Laser Techniques' technology. Following an extensive review and evaluation of numerous other non-destructive testing (NDT) technologies and companies, NASA chose Laser Techniques for a contract award to evaluate their technology. This is the second contract to result from the presentation at White Sands.
Laser Techniques Company builds customized measurement and inspection devices that improve the safety, reliability and useful life of high-value and safety-critical equipment and industrial machinery for the nuclear, petroleum refining, and aerospace industries.
For more information, visit www.laser-NDT.com .
Laser Focus World