Automated interpretation of external tank weld radiographs
Date
Authors
Major Professor
Advisor
Committee Member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Authors
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Is Version Of
Versions
Series
Begun in 1973, the Review of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation (QNDE) is the premier international NDE meeting designed to provide an interface between research and early engineering through the presentation of current ideas and results focused on facilitating a rapid transfer to engineering development.
This site provides free, public access to papers presented at the annual QNDE conference between 1983 and 1999, and abstracts for papers presented at the conference since 2001.
Department
Abstract
The Space Shuttle is the United States’ manned space vehicle. The External Tank (ET) component of the Shuttle system is the large brownish colored structure on which the orbiter and solid rocket boosters are mounted. The External Tank is constructed by Martin Marietta Manned Space Systems in New Orleans, Louisiana, which has produced ETs for over fifteen years. The function of the ET is to supply the Shuttle main engines (located in the orbiter) with liquid oxygen and hydrogen fuel. After about eight minutes of flight, the fuel from the tank has been expended and the ET is jettisoned. The orbiter ascends to orbital altitude while the ET falls, burning up as it reenters die atmosphere. Because the ET is disposed of in this way, each Shuttle launch requires a new ET.