Shuttle shield inspection

A new space shuttle tile inspection method using NASA-built, wireless scanners is replacing manual inspection.

The new process began with the upcoming shuttle mission, STS-118. Endeavour is scheduled to launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on August 8 at 1836 EDT.

Technicians have been using six new scanners to look for cracks and other imperfections in some of the 24,000 tiles that cover space shuttle Endeavour. The agency designed and built the new tools at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. In the past, workers at Kennedy visually analysed tiles and measured anomalies with small hand-held scales.

‘The new method is much faster and more accurate because the depth and volume measurements of the flaws and their locations are wirelessly transmitted into a computer database,’ said Joe Lavelle, a senior engineer and project manager at Ames. ‘This tool allows the inspectors to determine with very high confidence whether a shuttle tile needs to be replaced or just repaired.’