Scanners for Testing Heat Shields
A new space shuttle tile inspection method devised by Ames Research Center that uses wireless scanners that relay information to a computer database is replacing manual inspection, NASA announced Aug. 7.
Technicians have used six new scanners to look for cracks and other imperfections in some of the 24,000 tiles that cover shuttle Endeavour, as the orbiter is prepared for launch from Kennedy Space Center Aug. 8 on mission STS-118.
In the past, workers at Kennedy visually analyzed tiles and measured dings and cracks with hand-held scales. The new method is faster and more accurate, NASA says. Data on the depth and volume of cracks, as well as their locations, are wirelessly transmitted to a computer database. Read more
