IGF::OT::IGF "REVERSE-BIASED ACCELERATED LIFE TESTING OF 10UF CAPACITORS FOR ELC LVPS" - THE NASA ENGINEERI…

Public award description

IGF::OT::IGF "REVERSE-BIASED ACCELERATED LIFE TESTING OF 10UF CAPACITORS FOR ELC LVPS" - THE NASA ENGINEERING AND SAFETY CENTER (NESC) IS AN INDEPENDENT ORGANIZATION FOCUSED ON ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE NESC IS TO IMPROVE SAFETY BY PERFORMING IN-DEPTH INDEPENDENT ENGINEERING ASSESSMENTS, TESTING, AND ANALYSIS TO UNCOVER TECHNICAL VULNERABILITIES AND TO DETERMINE APPROPRIATE PREVENTATIVE AND CORRECTIVE ACTIONS FOR PROBLEMS, TRENDS, OR ISSUES WITHIN NASA'S PROGRAMS, PROJECTS, AND INSTITUTIONS. THE NESC DRAWS UPON THE BEST ENGINEERING EXPERTISE FROM ACROSS THE AGENCY AND INCLUDES PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, NATIONAL LABORATORIES, UNIVERSITIES, AND INDUSTRY. BY DRAWING ON THE MINDS OF LEADING ENGINEERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, NESC CONSISTENTLY OPTIMIZES ITS PROCESSES, DEEPENS ITS KNOWLEDGE BASE, STRENGTHENS ITS TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES, AND BROADENS ITS PERSPECTIVES, THEREBY FURTHER EXECUTING ITS COMMITMENT TO ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE. NESC'S ORGANIZATIONAL MODEL IS FOUNDED ON A KNOWLEDGE BASE OF TECHNICAL EXPERTISE DERIVED FROM WITHIN ALL NASA CENTERS AND AMONG A GROUP OF PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS EXTERNAL TO THE AGENCY. FOR EACH TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT THAT IS CONDUCTED, NESC ACCESSES A READY GROUP OF ENGINEERING EXPERTS - CALLED TECHNICAL DISCIPLINE TEAMS (TDTS) FROM MULTIPLE DISCIPLINE AREAS. THESE TEAMS, WHICH ARE LED BY NASA TECHNICAL FELLOWS, WORK TOGETHER TO ENSURE THAT THE HIGHEST STANDARD OF ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE IS ACHIEVED. THE NESC HAS BEEN REQUESTED TO INVESTIGATE THE FAILURE OF THE EXPRESS PALLET CONTROLLER ASSEMBLY SIMULATOR (ALSO KNOWN AS THE ELC SIMULATOR), DISCOVERED DURING CHECKOUT FOR THE SPACE TEST PROGRAM HOUSTON 4 (STP-H4) PAYLOAD ON-GROUND TESTING AT KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (KSC) IN OCTOBER 2012. THIS ASSESSMENT WILL EVALUATE THE ELECTRICAL GROUND SUPPORT EQUIPMENT SIMULATOR AND THE FLIGHT BUILD OF THE GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER (GSFC)-PRODUCED ELC EXPERIMENT CONTROL MODULE (ECM). THE INITIAL INVESTIGATION AND TROUBLESHOOTING REVEALED THAT THE IMMEDIATE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS DUE TO THE LOW-VOLTAGE POWER SUPPLY (LVPS) IN THE ECM. INITIAL VISUAL INSPECTION INDICATED THAT THE FAILURE OF THE LVPS WAS DUE TO REVERSE POLARITY INSTALLATION OF TANTALUM CAPACITORS IN THE LVPS. ALSO, THE ANALYSIS SUGGESTED THAT THE CAPACITORS IN THE EXPRESS LOGISTICS CARRIER (ELC) FLIGHT LVPS UNITS MAY HAVE BEEN INSTALLED IN REVERSE POLARITY; THUS, THE NESC HAS BEEN REQUESTED TO EVALUATE THE POSSIBLE IMPACT OF REVERSE POLARITY INSTALLATION ON THE LVPS FLIGHT UNITS AND POSSIBLE MITIGATION OF THE IMPACTS.