khayo@sonia.math.ucla.edu (Eric Behr) (06/11/88)
==================================================================
NOTE TO EDITORS: SPACE SHUTTLE MOTOR TO BE TEST FIRED
June 9, 1988
The fourth full-duration test firing of NASA's redesigned
Space Shuttle solid rocket motor is scheduled for Tuesday, June
14, at Morton Thiokol's Space Operations facility in Utah.
In addition to a news release and fact sheets on this test,
designated QM-7, other services will be available to assist the
news media including a pre-test briefing (11 a.m. to noon MDT),
an opportunity to view the motor test firing (1 p.m. MDT) and a
post-test briefing (2 to 3 p.m. MDT).
Live video coverage of the test firing, provided by Morton
Thiokol, will be carried on NASA Select television (RCA Satcom
F2R, transponder 13, located at 72 degrees west longitude),
beginning about 30 minutes prior to the test firing. Media may
receive television coverage directly from the satellite or view
it in NASA newsrooms at NASA Headquarters in Washington, Marshall
Space Flight Center, Kennedy Space Center or Johnson Space
Center. There will be no television coverage of the briefings.
A joint NASA/Morton Thiokol newscenter will be in operation
from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (MDT) on the day prior to the test, June
13, and again on test day. The pre- and post-test briefings will
originate from this newscenter. The newscenter is located at the
Morton Thiokol test observation area, about 22 miles west of
Brigham City, along Utah Highway 83.
For those media representatives planning to attend the test-
day activities at Morton Thiokol, no advance accreditation is
required. However, a courtesy call to the Morton Thiokol Public
Relations Office, is requested to confirm
the number of reporters and crew members attending. Current
media credentials will be required to gain access to the
newscenter and test observation site.
Due to restricted viewing angles of the new test stand from
the newscenter area, a special viewing site will be in operation
for the QM-7 test. Media will be bused to the viewing site about
45 minutes prior to the test.
QUALIFICATION MOTOR-7 FACT SHEET
QM-7 is a full-size Space Shuttle solid rocket motor
approximately 126 feet in length and 12 feet in diameter. The
motor weighs 1.2 million pounds, including 1.1 million pounds of
propellant. The QM-7 motor will be conditioned to a mean bulk
propellant temperature of 90 degrees F.
The three field joints, which connect the four motor
segments, are of the flight configuration, capture feature tang
and clevis design with three Viton o-rings. The mating
insulation surfaces at each joint are bonded with an adhesive and
include a J-shaped deflection relief slot which reduces stresses
and increases sealing action of the bonded surfaces under motor
pressure. Joint heaters, mounted around the motor case at each
field joint, are thermostatically controlled to maintain joint
temperature at a minimum of 75 degrees F.
The motor case-to-nozzle joint on QM-7 is the flight
configuration which incorporates 100 radial bolts, adhesively
bonded insulation surfaces, a shaped relief slot and an added
Viton "wiper" o-ring designed to keep the adhesive away from the
primary o-ring and on the insulation surfaces during assembly.
None of the joints in the QM-7 motor contain intentional
manufacturing or assembly defects.
The QM-7 motor is equipped with a flight design external
tank attach ring. Three hydraulically actuated struts are
attached to the ring which simulate the motor's connection to an
external tank. During the motor firing, a programmed series of
dynamic loads will be applied through the struts to simulate
ignition, liftoff and flight loads. Response of the QM-7 motor
to these loads will be monitored by instrumentation.
The QM-7 motor nozzle contains the flight configuration
outer boot ring successfully tested on the DM-8 motor firing in
August and on QM-6 in April. Additionally, the QM-7 motor nozzle
is fitted with an explosive exit cone severance system, which
will be activated at about T+15 minutes to simulate severance of
the nozzle aft exit cone as it occurs during a mission.
About 600 instruments are fitted to the QM-7 motor to
measure acceleration, pressure, deflection, thrust, strain,
temperature, electrical properties and other conditions.
T-97 LARGE MOTOR STATIC TEST FACILITY FACT SHEET
The T-97 Large Motor Static Test Facility was constructed to
support the Shuttle solid rocket motor redesign program.
Construction of the facility was authorized by NASA in
October 1986, with site preparation and groundbreaking on
November 5. The facility was completed in October 1987.
NASA provided Space Shuttle special tooling and related
items, a total of approximately $15 million. Morton Thiokol
provided all structural portions of the facility at a cost of
about $7 million.
The facility contains a total of 7,000 cubic yards of
concrete, with 308 tons of reinforcing steel and an additional
230 tons of such things as steel plates and rails. Site
construction required movement of 166,000 cubic yards of earth,
and the finished pad site is covered with approximately 3,300
tons of asphalt. Overall, the site measures about 550 by 350
feet.
A 155 x 30 x 30-foot, self-propelled, moveable conditioning
building has the capacity of heating an entire test motor to as
much as 110 degrees or cooling it to as low as 20 degrees,
independent of outside air temperature.
The test stand itself can withstand a thrust load of 4
million pounds, and can impart side reaction loads of 400,000
pounds during test firing to simulate aspects of flight dynamics.
To measure motor performance, a total of 1,216 channels of
instrumentation is included in the site. Two instrumentation
buildings contain computer-controlled instruments and recording
equipment which monitor test motors during firing. In addition,
motor functions are recorded with a complete system of remotely
operated television, still, and both normal- and high-speed
motion picture cameras.
An overhead crane of 200 tons capacity and an auxiliary
hoist of 15 tons capacity, plus adjustable positioning trucks,
allow accurate placement and mating of rocket motor segments
during motor assembly and disassembly.
==================================================================
Eric