Thermal Protection System (TPS) Inspection and Repair

Discipline: Environmental Control/Life Support Where necessity drives out-of-the-box thinking, Parazynski discussed a retrospective on the EVA tools and procedures efforts NASA went through in the aftermath of Columbia for the Space Shuttle TPS inspection and repair. He was the lead astronaut on this effort and participated in all the NBL, KC- 135, PABF activities, and in vacuum chamber and 1-G testing. He led the crew consensus reporting and helped develop the tools and techniques that were flown. Parazynski described how the EVA community worked together to resolve a huge safety issue (how to conduct EVA repairs on the Space Shuttle) and how work in the spacesuit was critical in overcoming a design limitation of the Space Shuttle.

Dr. Scott Parazynski

7/28/2015 4:00:00 PM