  Volume 6, Number 5     September/October 1998

Advanced Technologies

Shuttle Coating More Than Applies

DOW CORNING AND KENNEDY SPACE Center are continuing to test and refine a material that has brought significant savings to NASA launch pad coating efforts and is already used commercially in the aerospace and automotive industries. The Dow Corning^® 3-6376 Fast Cure Elastomer, a two-part, primerless, 100-percent silicone material, is used in the automotive industry as a sealant and to coat engine compartment firewalls, according to Dow Corning spokesman John Torgerson.

The Dow Corning^® 3-6376 Fast Cure Elastomer benefits NASA and private industry in several ways. It saves NASA money on materials, equipment and labor. It also reduces turnaround time for the launch structure because of fewer refurbishment operations. The new coating technology allows for easy spray application of large areas, and fewer solvents are used to help protect the delicate environment surrounding the launch pad. The product provides stronger protective coating to protect the Space Shuttle's Mobile Launcher Platform, the gantry structure and other valuable equipment from the rocket's heat, abrasives and chemical exposure.

Kennedy has been working on better protective coatings and easier, environmentally friendly applications since the 1980s, according to Kennedy's Materials Science Laboratory spokesman Lou MacDowell. NASA decided to investigate using more resistant ablative-type coatings to reduce the costly recoating of highly exposed sections of the launch pad, damaged from heat, abrasion and chemical exposure after each launch.

Ablative-type coatings form tough, abrasion-resistant surface films and also resist intense heat. MacDowell said that Kennedy's Materials Science Laboratory tested and evaluated many formulas of silicone ablative materials. A primerless, spray-on formula was of particular interest to replace the trowel-applied silicone that required separate primer steps.

Finally, in 1994, with NASA's recommendations and testing, Dow Corning's Fast Cure Elastomer was formulated. The new product, applied with special spraying equipment and techniques, has withstood more than a dozen launches to date without the need for recoating.

For more information, contact Tom Gould at Kennedy Space Center.
Call: 407/867-6238, Fax: 407/867-2050, E-mail: Thomas.Gould-1@kmail.ksc.nasa.gov
Please mention you read about it in Innovation.

Ablative-type coatings that protect the Space Shuttle and reduce recoating costs have found commercial applications in the automotive and aerospace industries.

TELEMEDICINE COLLABORATIONS AND EFFORTS CONTINUE

NASA is working closely with Yale University to explore potential collaborations with French organizations in the field of telemedicine, for commercial and space applications of next-generation technologies. NASA and Yale most recently tested new health care devices based on space science technology by analyzing data from sensors monitoring the vital signs and location of four climbers making their ascent on Mt. Everest. Health data traveled from the base camp at an altitude of 17,500 feet to the NASA-Yale Telemedicine Project site at Yale, where Yale medical personnel monitored the health status of the climbers.

Tests on Mt. Everest may lead to design improvements in future automated medical monitoring and care systems for astronauts who may be in space for months. The problems of high-altitude adaptation, physiological stress and the climbers' location represent great medical challenges similar to those experienced by an astronaut in space.

NASA and Yale have been working in partnership since July 1997 to contribute to the nation's competitive lead in the commercial applications of telemedicine. In Toulouse, France, both the Institute of Telemedicine and the Institut de Médecine et de Physiologie Spatiale (MEDES) have agreed to explore potential collaborations in the telemedicine field with NASA's Commercial Space Center, Medical Informatics and Technology Applications (MITA), at the Yale University School of Medicine. Cooperation between NASA's National Space Biomedical Research Institute and MEDES also is being explored.

In 1997, NASA's Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications established a Commercial Space Center--MITA--at the Yale University School of Medicine. This center is focused on activities in telemedicine and technology applied to the delivery of health care.

For more information, contact Debra J. Rahn at NASA Headquarters.
Call: 202/358-1638, E-mail: debra.rahn@hq.nasa.gov
Please mention you read about it in Innovation.

NASA Official: Jonathan Root

Web Designer: Vanessa Nugent
Credits