Shuttle Return-to-Flight
Astronaut Steve Robinson during EVA for Tile Repair (underside of shuttle). (Photo courtesy of NASA)
OSS designed and produced equipment for the in-space repair of damaged space shuttle tiles, and for on-the-ground inspection of the space shuttle nosecap and wing leading edge for the July 26 – August 9, 2005 Space Shuttle Return-to-Flight Mission. The new in-space equipment focused on three methods for repairing shuttle thermal tiles while on-orbit. The on-the-ground inspection project involved developing and manufacturing two In-Situ Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) Inspection Kits for use at the orbiter processing facility at the Kennedy Space Center.
As part of the same flight, OSS also provided a variety of astronaut safety equipment and tools, and the External Stowage Platform Attachment Device, or ESPAD, for the International Space Station. Mated on-orbit, the ESPAD is used to attach an even larger structure, the external stowage platform-2, to the outside of the space station.