Yesterday we loaded the fuel carts at the fuel farm on Pad 39B so that they can be transfered to the Pad 39A service structure to fuel Atlantis when it arrives there in the next couple of weeks. The process is fairly straight forward but for some reason, last night, anything that could go wrong, did.
The carts are uncovered during the walk down before the job and the area is inspected for safety issues as well as to make sure everything is in order and accessible for the technicians when they are out there doing the work. The job is done in SCAPE which is a self contained atmospheric suit which the techs wear to protect them from extremely corrosive, cancer-causing, hydrazine vapors.
The proper connections are made from the facility to the carts via flexhoses and the system is tested with gaseous nitrogen (GN2) in the event of any leaks. When the GN2 is purged from the system the hydrazine begins to flow from a fuel truck that is brought in a few days before. When all is said and done, the process can take roughly 8 hours to fill up the 5 carts (3 APU carts and 2 HPU carts).
** I should note that the HPU carts are for the Hydraulic Power Units which are in the solid rocket boosters and are the counter part to the auxiliary power units in the orbiter**
Last night was full of unfortunate events. From missing papers to batteries dying in flashlights were just some of the minor things. There was a leak in one of the hoses which was detected during the GN2 flow and needed to be fixed. Those were the biggest things to happen before I left at 2100. One of the few good scales we had began acting up, probably because of the rain, and a few other things kept the job from running smoothly. From what I heard, the guys that stayed later were not done until about 0430 this morning. But now the carts are full and, for the most part, ready to be transported to the Pad.
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1 comment:
, It sounds like you are really enjoying what you are doing. Have to say when i think back to when i first got to know you, you would try to tell me about nasa and sapce stuff, it was all gibberish to me, but i have to tell you that joe and your mom should be very proud of you, because I know I am.
Hope tp read more about aht you are doing. Write to you later. Good Luck, Uncle jules
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