how many missions can an orbiter window
withstand
that's a determination that must be made
at the end of each flight
in order to determine the flight
worthiness of the six thermal orbiter
windows each one must first be
laboriously hand cleaned
a haze makes on to the surfaces in the
four thousand degree heat of reentry
the cleaning process takes approximately
a week of labor
and only after the haze is removed can
visual inspection begin
small scale debris impacts on orbit and
booster separation exhaust result in
damage to the windows
a mylar is made for flight to flight
comparisons
the new defects are evaluated using an
epoxy mold impression
any crater depth exceeding six ten
thousandths of an inch results in a
window
replacement a new inspection system has
been developed by the inet special
instrumentation laboratory at ksc
a lightweight scanning frame automates
the side light optical scattering method
and shows defects in the presence of
haze
this automated optical technique can be
performed prior to polishing the windows
and it provides a permanent and accurate
recording of the results
a computer image can be printed onto a
mylar and archived in a database for
detailed flight to flight analysis
the second phase of the automated
inspection employs a high resolution
camera system to determine a maximum
depth extent of the damage features
by adapting technologies already in use
in shuttle and payloads defect analysis
at ksc
this automated inspection technique
provides more accurate data sooner
you