The expertise of the Instrumentation System Laboratory is focused within four specific application areas. The Transducer Development group develops and tests unique sensor-based measurement systems and evaluates the testing of commercially available sensors for compliance to strict Space Shuttle, International Space Station, Payloads, and KSC-specific design and performance requirements. The Hazardous Gas Detection group develops instruments to detect cryogenic propellant leakage in the Space Shuttle and other launch vehicles, primarily using mass spectrometer (MS) and other advanced analytical technologies. The Contamination Monitoring group develops and tests instruments and methods for monitoring undesirable particulates, nonvolatile residues, and specialized vapors within hardware-processing clean rooms and related areas. The Kennedy Complex Control System (KCCS) group designs, develops, tests, and installs instrumentation to monitor and control facility systems throughout KSC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; chilled water; power; pneumatic; fire suppression; and potable water).
Staff Credentials
Ph.D. Chemist - Mass spectrometer design, test, and application analysis; vacuum sampling system design and analysis
Metrologist - sensor/transducer and instrumentation system design and error analysis
Transducer Test Engineers and Technicians - design, selection, test, and analysis of transducer performance and methods
Laboratories Services and Equipment:
Mass spectrometer design and testing
Gas sampling/detection system/analytical instrumentation design and testing
Sensor- and transducer-based instrumentation system design (temperature, pressure, flow, strain, hydrogen gas detection, and hydrogen flame detection)
Electromagnetic interference/compliance testing
Contamination monitoring system design and evaluation (airborne-particle counters)
Programmable logic controller (PLC)-based instrumentation and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system design, hardware assembly, programming, operation, and evaluations
Mechanical modeling and thermal computational fluid dynamics analysis
Laboratory Assets & Specialized Equipment
Secondary measurement transfer standards within areas of pressure, temperature, and flow (liquid and gas)
High-precision equipment for generating pressure, temperature, and flow (liquid and gas)
Five environmental temperature chambers
Electromagnetic interference test chamber (8' × 14' × 8' anechoic chamber) and associated amplifiers and antennas for testing to MIL-STD-461, Revisions A through E
Two high-precision, multichannel gas mixing systems
Custom-built gas sensor testbed for delivering precise gas concentrations at variable temperatures and pressures/altitudes
Residual gas analyzer mass spectrometers
Gas chromatograph
Configuration vacuum pumps for ultralow vacuum production/gas sample delivery
High-precision multimeters and voltage calibrators
Recent Notable Achievements:
Designed, fabricated, tested, and delivered the Hazardous Gas Detection System upgrade for Space Shuttle Operations use as a Criticality 1 ground support equipment (GSE) system.
Developed and flight-demonstrated the Airborne Volcanic Emissions Mass Spectrometer (AVEMS), a miniaturized and ruggedized mass spectrometer-based gas analyzer system measuring volcanic emissions in Costa Rica.
Developed the Tire/Strut Pressure Monitor, an accurate handheld sensor for monitoring the pressure of the Space Shuttle tires from a safe but close distance in temperatures from 20 to 120 °F. Further development in progress will yield a handheld calibration standard permitting in-place, field calibration of pressure-measuring instruments. This product could save millions of dollars at KSC and throughout industry.
Developed the External Tank Center of Alignment System (ETCAS) that improves the process of aligning and centering the Shuttle External Tank between the Solid Rocket Boosters by combining laser distance sensors with wireless technology to measure with greater accuracy, eliminate the need for calibration, and permit a safe distance between operator and hardware.
Major participant in developing and implementing KCCS, a multimillion-dollar, network-based programmable logic controller (PLC) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system that monitors all the facilities systems at KSC.
Designed, prototyped, evaluated, and delivered the Airborne-Particle Counting System.
Responsible for selecting, testing, and qualifying GSE transducers used at KSC.
ASRC Aerospace Corporation
P.O. Box 21087
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Instrumentation Systems Development Laboratory
Staff Credentials