Presenter Information

Tony S. Humble
Alan R. Fertig

Start Date

4-1988 8:00 AM

Description

USBI, a division of United Technologies Corporation (UTC ), was awarded a contract by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to refurbish the non-motor sections (nosecap, frustum, forward skirt, and aft skirt) of the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB) used in the space shuttle program. As NASA's major contractor for processing and refurbishment of the SRB's, our company has successfully refurbished all the SRB's flight hardware to date. The planned insulation refurbishment process of the SRB's consists of thermal protection system (TPS) removal; surface preparation; reapplication of Marshall Sprayable Ablative (MSA-2), a thermal ablative material developed at Marshall Space Flight Center; and topcoat spraying of Hypalon paint to seal the ablative material.

In the past, refurbishment of the SRB's was done by hand at the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). This process was slow and tedious, and introduced personnel to potentially hazardous working environments. A means of reducing costs and providing enhanced quality assurance was desired. Therefore, the need arose to implement a degree of automation to the refurbishment process. The introduction of a new automated process system would reduce the manual labor element, limiting the need for personnel to come in direct contact with hazardous materials. And because of the reliability and accuracy of robotics, NASA would be assured of receiving the highest possible quality product , at the lowest cost.

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Apr 1st, 8:00 AM

Robots Refurbish Space Shuttle Hardware USBI

USBI, a division of United Technologies Corporation (UTC ), was awarded a contract by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to refurbish the non-motor sections (nosecap, frustum, forward skirt, and aft skirt) of the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB) used in the space shuttle program. As NASA's major contractor for processing and refurbishment of the SRB's, our company has successfully refurbished all the SRB's flight hardware to date. The planned insulation refurbishment process of the SRB's consists of thermal protection system (TPS) removal; surface preparation; reapplication of Marshall Sprayable Ablative (MSA-2), a thermal ablative material developed at Marshall Space Flight Center; and topcoat spraying of Hypalon paint to seal the ablative material.

In the past, refurbishment of the SRB's was done by hand at the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). This process was slow and tedious, and introduced personnel to potentially hazardous working environments. A means of reducing costs and providing enhanced quality assurance was desired. Therefore, the need arose to implement a degree of automation to the refurbishment process. The introduction of a new automated process system would reduce the manual labor element, limiting the need for personnel to come in direct contact with hazardous materials. And because of the reliability and accuracy of robotics, NASA would be assured of receiving the highest possible quality product , at the lowest cost.

 

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