Reliable Shuttle Orbiters Need Special Care

Entering one of the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) bays at Kennedy Space Center is like walking into a china shop. It’s best to not touch anything if you are not working an assigned task. While the Space Shuttle Orbiters have many capabilities and are highly reliable vehicles, many elements can be damaged if touched incorrectly.

Numerous Shuttle parts are highly sensitive to physical contact or being exposed to oils and even small amounts of dirt on a person’s hands.

“The Shuttle always has been and continues to be a great spacecraft, but it doesn’t take much to damage a tile,” said Terry White, Project Lead for Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) in the OPF. “That’s why we always wear white cotton gloves when we work on them. Cotton is a pure fiber, leaving little residue.”

An inspection of an OPF bay will reveal a very clean shop.

“We want to be sure we keep everything clean and in its proper position,” White said. “That way, if something is out of place, if we see dirt or leaking fluid, right away we know where to check further to see if something is wrong.”

Each Orbiter has approximately 24,000 silica tiles and 2,300 flexible insulation blankets that provide protection from the 3,000 degrees F heat created during re-entry.

“The tiles do a great job protecting the Orbiters and astronaut crews during re-entry,” White said. “But they are particularly fragile to the touch and are easily ‘dinged’ with the black coating coming off. In those cases, we repair that spot to ensure the tile can do its job.”

The written procedures for working with Shuttle TPS tiles have specific guidelines for protecting this crucial flight hardware during processing operations. The procedure is specific: “Do not touch RSI (Reusable Surface Insulation) tile with bare hands.”

The procedures go on to specifically require wearing approved gloves when handling tile or tile subassemblies and to change gloves frequently when performing tile bonding to prevent transferring liquid adhesive to exposed surfaces from contaminated gloves.

“Even if you have just washed your hands, you still have oils or small amounts of dirt or grime that can contaminate tiles or other surfaces,” White said.

There are many Orbiter components that may be contaminated if touched.

“The brakes are specially cleaned prior to the tires being placed on the landing gear,” White said. “Touching them or similar surfaces can transfer small amounts of soil that can quickly become corrosive.”

White noted that when walking around a Shuttle Orbiter, there is sometimes a tendency to want to treat it like a new car by kicking the tires.

“Not a good idea,” he said. “Once everything is set, there is instrumentation on the landing gear that can be damaged by moving the wheels even a small amount.”

Occasionally, special care is needed for certain payloads.

“All mid-body payload processing in the OPF is kept in a controlled and clean environment,” he said. “Occasionally, a much cleaner environment must be maintained. For instance, the Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission required the most stringent of contamination controls to avoid any contamination to the highly sensitive replacement components.

“The best advice for someone going in an OPF bay is to look all you want but ask before you touch anything,” White said. “Visitors, as well as technicians, must follow the procedures to ensure Orbiters stay in great shape and ready to fly.”

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