Space Shuttle OV-105 Subnominal Bond Investigation

Abstract

During summer 2003, structures work along the wing/fuselage mate rivet line on NASA's Space Shuttle OV-105 (Endeavour) required thermal tile removal. The tiles were removed nondestructively, so they could be reused, by skiving through the Strain Isolator Pad (SIP) from an adjacent tile cavity. While removing the remaining SIP from the tile, technicians noted the SIP and Room Temperature Vulcanizing (RTV) was peeling adhesively from the Inner Mold Line (IML) on the tile surface. This paper presents findings that eliminate many possible causes of the subnominal adhesive bond, and suggests that the most likely cause of the adhesive bond was the use of brushes contaminated with Krylon 1201 Spray Starch or MS-143 Mold Release Agent. The research was accomplished by analyzing historical NASA documents, results of bond verification tests, peel tests, contamination tests and fabrication process anomaly tests.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2005
Accession Number
ADA431055

Entities

People

  • Anna E. Gunn-golkin

Organizations

  • United States Air Force Academy

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Adhesives
  • Air Force
  • Astronautics
  • Chemical Analysis
  • Contamination
  • Engineering
  • Engineers
  • Fabrication
  • Failure Mode And Effect Analysis
  • Gas Chromatography
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Materials
  • Peel Strength
  • Space Shuttles
  • Technicians
  • Verification
  • Verification Tests

Readers

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Technology Areas

  • Space