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Arc Jet and Return to Flight
06.22.05
 
Links to broadcast quality audio files and transcripts, May 4, 2005 interviews with Ernest Fretter and John Balboni, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., about the Ames 'Arc Jet' facilities and their use in returning the Space Shuttle to flight.

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Radio 16 bit 44.1 kilohertz stereo WAV 9.9 MB
Radio 320 kbps MP3 2.2 MB
on-line Mono-56kps MP3 404 KB

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Full Transcript (below)


5. Q: How did engineers conduct the tests of the heat shield repair kits?

Balboni: A sample would be prepared of first taking the material of the Shuttle and creating some damage on it – intentionally damaging it and then applying the repair over the damage. And the samples are about four inches in length, and, which is a fairly large piece to be testing on the ground under these conditions. We would then put it into the facility with the superheated gases, and heat it through what's called an entry profile, which would be a temperature-time-varying history that's representative of the Shuttle when it's entering. And that temperature would then rise, of course, from room temperature very quickly up to 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit, ramping then up – slowly up – to 2,950 degrees Fahrenheit over a period of 10 minutes, and then ramping back down. And the total test would be 15minutes in length. (58 SECONDS)