Location
Howard Johnson Plaza-Hotel, Atlantis/ Discovery Rooms
Start Date
27-4-1994 1:00 PM
End Date
27-4-1994 4:00 PM
Description
A new space payload was recently developed which provides the capability for processing advanced metals and alloys. This payload features a high temperature sintering furnace which has successfully flown on the first two missions of the commercial SPACEHAB payload carrier (STS Mission 57 and 60), This paper describes the technical and programmatic approaches used to deliver the rack-mounted equipment in less than ten months from program initiation, and at a cost of less than $3,000/pound (compared to some $100,000/pound for comparable astronaut-rated payloads). A key to the efficient and cost-effective approach was the use of the Universal Small Experiment Container or USEC developed by Wyle Laboratories. This commercially-developed product was used to incorporate the furnace, vacuum system, computer/controller, power conditioning, cooling system, pressurized gas purge system, gravity sensor, and other elements into a compact 220-pound package. The project has established a new milestone by demonstrating how more cost-effective payloads can be developed and flown on the Space Shuttle.
Paper Session II-A - A New Commercial Space Furnace- Developed on the Fast Track
Howard Johnson Plaza-Hotel, Atlantis/ Discovery Rooms
A new space payload was recently developed which provides the capability for processing advanced metals and alloys. This payload features a high temperature sintering furnace which has successfully flown on the first two missions of the commercial SPACEHAB payload carrier (STS Mission 57 and 60), This paper describes the technical and programmatic approaches used to deliver the rack-mounted equipment in less than ten months from program initiation, and at a cost of less than $3,000/pound (compared to some $100,000/pound for comparable astronaut-rated payloads). A key to the efficient and cost-effective approach was the use of the Universal Small Experiment Container or USEC developed by Wyle Laboratories. This commercially-developed product was used to incorporate the furnace, vacuum system, computer/controller, power conditioning, cooling system, pressurized gas purge system, gravity sensor, and other elements into a compact 220-pound package. The project has established a new milestone by demonstrating how more cost-effective payloads can be developed and flown on the Space Shuttle.
Comments
Commercial Utilization
Session Chairman: David Wensley, Vice President and General Manager, Strategic Business Development, McDonnell Douglas Aerospace
Session Organizer: Shirley Green, Payload Planning and Customer Support Office, NASA Kennedy Space Center, FL