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Sts-133 space shuttle external tank intertank stringer crack investigation stress analysis
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Steeve, Brian E. |
| Copyright Year | 2012 |
| Description | The first attempt to launch the STS-133 Space Shuttle mission in the fall of 2010 was halted due to indications of a gaseous hydrogen leak at the External Tank ground umbilical carrier plate seal. Subsequent inspection of the external tank (figure 1) hardware and recorded video footage revealed that the foam insulation covering the forward end of the intertank near the liquid oxygen tank had cracked severely enough to have been cause for halting the launch attempt on its own (figure 2). An investigation into the cause of the insulation crack revealed that two adjacent hat-section sheet metal stringers (figure 3) had cracks up to nine inches long in the forward ends of the stringer flanges, or feet, near the fasteners that attach the stringer to the skin of the intertank (figure 4). A repair of those two stringers was implemented and the investigation effort widened to understand the root cause of the stringer cracks and to determine whether there was sufficient flight rationale to launch with the repairs and the other installed stringers. |
| File Size | 2921373 |
| Page Count | 36 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_20120014466 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t3vt6n976 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 2012-04-23 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Spacecraft Design, Testing And Performance Leakage Cracks External Tanks Space Shuttles Liquid Oxygen Space Shuttle Missions Inspection Launching Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
