Standard nondestructive (NDE) methods, borescope, x ray, dye penetrant, ultrasonic, and eddy current are used to detect flaws generated from the extreme environments that the Space Shuttles encounter. Each of the four space shuttles, Columbia, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour, are required to have a structural inspection performed at the Rockwell Space System Division, Palmdale facility. This paper describes the NDE methods used at Palmdale during the orbiter maintenance down period (OMDP) of the Space Shuttle Atlantis.

Date Published: 7 July 1995
PDF: 5 pages
Proc. SPIE 2455, Nondestructive Evaluation of Aging Aircraft, Airports, Aerospace Hardware, and Materials, (7 July 1995); doi: 10.1117/12.213556

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2455:
Nondestructive Evaluation of Aging Aircraft, Airports, Aerospace Hardware, and Materials
Tobey M. Cordell; Raymond D. Rempt, Editor(s)