XA/EVA Project Office Weekly Activity Report 20 July 2000

XA/EVA Project Office,
Weekly Activity Report

EMU O2 Contamination Recovery Status – Update 7/18

Efforts are continuing to support STS-106 launch given O2 contamination concerns in the EMU. Disassembly, cleaning, and rebuilding of SOP regulators is in work at Carleton Technologies, Inc. The first of three regulators is due to Hamilton Sundstrand this Saturday (7/22) for integration into the SOP assembly. The other two regulators to support STS-106 are scheduled for completion 7/26 and 8/2. To date, no Primary Life Support System (PLSS) components have been shown to be contaminated. In lieu of being able to break down and check the actual flight components, a hazard analysis report is being generated (with support from WSTF) to substantiate use of potentially contaminated PLSS components. Over the weekend a cold trap “monitor” was installed and tested on the EMU test stands at USA Flight Crew Equipment facility. The successful completion of this test allowed USA to resume EMU processing as of late Saturday. This cold trap system will continue to be used for monitoring the bottled air used at USA for charging PLSS units until a long term solution is implemented. Additional testing of cold traps is continuing to verify effectiveness for filtering gas sources for charging the SOPs. Verification of the cold trap system should be completed this week to support SOP processing at Hamilton Sundstrand late next week.

EVA Tool Stowage Device (ETSD) Door Misalignment

During the 3A Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT), a door misalignment was observed on 3 of the 4 doors on both ETSDs. The resultant investigation revealed that the ETSDs were slightly deformed when it was integrated onto the Space Lab Pallet in the Space Station Processing Facility in preparations for STS-92, 3A, and subsequently installed into the orbiter at OPF1. The slight deformation did not affect the primary latching mechanism but did cause interference with the pip pin installation for final closeout. Resolution is in work to modify the door latch receiver to accept the slight pip pin misalignment. In addition, the 16 bolts holding the ETSDs on the Space Lab Pallet are being checked to insure torque requirements are within EVA requirements. Modifications are scheduled to be complete by July 21.

Thermal Testing Failure

The EVA Project Office coordinated an EVA consensus, through the EVA Analysis and Integration Team (AIT),to agree upon an EVA operational work around to react to a thermal testing failure of the Universal Trunnion Attachment System (UTAS) soft capture feature. The EVA AIT accepted the implementation of a manual EVA soft capture capability for known applications which would avoid redesign of the passive half of the UTAS hardware. Redesign of the passive UTAS would have precluded the ability of the Program to install the hardware on Z1, P6, and the Lab. Agreement was coordinated at the SSPCB and any post-lab installations of the UTAS would have the soft-capture capability redesigned.

On-Orbit Stowage Requirements for EMU and SAFER

The EVA Configuration Control Board approved the return of two SAFERs on Flight 4A at the request of the ISS Program. This action is intended to help in the on-board stowage problem during increments 1 and 2. This postpones the availability of a backup SAFER until Flight 7A.1. A third SAFER battery has been confirmed to be a part of the two SAFERs bagged and stowed assemblies. Any flight or increment that has two SAFERs available will have three batteries as requested by the Board. Three EMUs will be available post-7A for use out of the Joint Airlock.

Joint Airlock Hatch Cover

EVA Project Office and Engineering personnel met with representatives of the NASA and Boeing ISS Hatch team at MSFC in Huntsville, AL, on Thursday July 13, 2000, in a TIM for the proposed ISS Joint Airlock IVA Hatch cover. The objective of this meting was to resolve open technical and paperwork issues for this concept which is being proposed to be installed on the Crewlock side of the common hatch between that segment and the equipment lock segment of the ISS Joint Airlock. This concept is being developed in an attempt to mitigate the potential for EVA snag and pinch points on the hatch. The meeting resulted in a consensus that the JSC-developed cover design would work with minor changes. Due to the similarity of this concept to a previous ISS hatch port protective cover developed for internal hatches, including this same hatch, it was agreed that the most efficient and cost effective method to proceed on this effort would be for the JSC design to be turned over to ISS so that the existing engineering and configuration management tools utilized for the hatch port cover could also be used for this effort. A realization was reached that a JSC GFE effort along with required ISS integration would not result in significantly lower costs and such a plan would add complexity and problems to the overall effort. JSC EVA Project Office personnel are generating an ISS CR to put forward for program consideration the plan agreed to at MSFC for ISS to develop this cover based upon the JSC Engineering cover concept.

Gregory J. Harbaugh

Manager