NASA News
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration
John C. Stennis Space Center
Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000
(228) 688-3341 April 23, 2004
Paul Foerman
NASA News Chief
(228) 688-3341
MBO-04-034
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STENNIS SPACE CENTER ASSISTING
WITH RETURN TO FLIGHT EFFORTS
Engineers with NASA Stennis Space Center’s (SSC) Propulsion Test Directorate are modifying three test stands in anticipation of Space Shuttle flow liner testing scheduled to begin early this summer. The tests are part of the effort to return the Space Shuttle safely to flight. Flow liners, in the Space Shuttle’s main propulsion system fuel feed lines, protect flexible joints from the liquid hydrogen fuel as it feeds toward the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) turbopumps. Small cracks have been found in the flow liners inside the hydrogen fuel lines aboard all NASA’s orbiters – Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavour.
The cracks were first found in June 2002, resulting in concern that a piece of flow liner material may work free and enter the SSME’s turbopumps, causing potential for a premature engine shutdown in flight. After extensive testing and analysis, the existing cracks on the orbiters’ flow liners were repaired by welding.
SSC is modifying the A-1 Test Stand and the E-1 Cell 2 Test Position to accommodate test articles that will be used to gather data while simulating the actual flight environment. The fuel duct on the A-2 Test Stand is also being modified to support fuel flow characterization efforts. The A-2 stand currently supports SSME testing and certification for flight. The A-1 stand was used for testing SSMEs until last summer, when refurbishment of the A-2 stand was completed and all SSME test activities were transferred there. In December 2003 the Space Shuttle Program Office engaged the Rocket Propulsion Test (RPT) Program Office at SSC to assist in determining the most suitable test location to conduct the proposed flow liner testing. The RPT Program Office evaluated existing NASA, Department of Defense and commercial rocket propulsion test facilities in order to make this determination. The RPT Program Office’s selection was based on the facility’s capability and readiness along with the experience of the test crews. The SSC A-1 and E-1 stands were chosen as the appropriate locations to conduct this important Return to Flight test activity. SSC engineers and technicians from NASA, the Rocketdyne Propulsion and Power unit of The Boeing Co., Mississippi Space Services and Lockheed Martin Space Operations have been designing, modifying, repairing, fabricating and installing complex test systems in support of A-1 and E-1 Cell 2 activation. The flow liner test articles are being designed at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and at The Boeing Co.’s Huntington Beach Facility in California. “Our purpose is to provide the data that will be used to assess and define the characteristics of the Space Shuttle fuel system flow liners in order to clear the Space Shuttle for safe flight,” said Ronnie Rigney, deputy project manager of the SSME Project Office at SSC. “We have an excellent team of people working hard to ready our facilities for this important task.”
– END –
News releases provided by NASA’s Stennis Space Center are available at https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ssc/news/newsreleases/2004. For more information, call the NASA Public Affairs Office at Stennis at 1-800-237-1821 in Mississippi and Louisiana only, or (228) 688-3341.
2004 News Releases