Benefits and Impacts Obsolescence Reduction Risk Reduction Safety Improvement Cost Reduction

1. Impact of Trapped Water in Shuttle Tiles Area(s) of Significant Benefit Safety Performance Sustainability Operations Infrastructure • Description • Study the impact of trapped water on the structural properties of Shuttle tiles • Trapped water could cause structural damage to tiles when vaporized on assent or descent due to steam pressure. • Trapped water could cause structural damage by expansion if frozen on orbit. • DMES rewaterproofing would react with water if present in the tiles. • Technologies and Capabilities • Develop technologies to quantitatively measure the amount and location of water in Shuttle tiles. • Develop test procedure to measure the structural strength of Shuttle tiles. • Measure the strength of Shuttle tile with and without water and rewaterproofing during temperature cycles that match the conditions during launch, on orbit, and during descent. Benefits and Impacts Obsolescence Reduction Risk Reduction Safety Improvement Cost Reduction Process Improvement Other (Ultra-High Operations Improvement Reliability) Performance Enhancement • POC, Cost, Schedule and Maturity • TRL 2 – 6, Instrumentation and Materials Science, Process and materials • POC: Clyde Parrish, KSC, (321) 867-8763 • Data that could be used to model the impact of water on the strength and bonding of Shuttle tiles. • Modify the waterproofing procedures, develop new adhesives, or know when a tile needs to be replaced. • Reduction in Category 1 Failure Rate of 1%

2. Impact of Trapped Water in Shuttle Tiles • Total Project Costs: $ 6.73M • Obsolescence & Feasibility: $ 0.11 M • Formulation: $ 1.42 M • Implementation: $ 5.2 M • Project Submitted By: Clyde Parrish • Note: Supplemental Information attached in MS Word document