ASRC Aerospace Scientist Investigating New Spacecraft Propulsion

This article appears in the January 26, 2007 edition of Spaceport News Vol. 46, No. 2

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/news/snews/spnews_toc.html

“KSC-developed technology helps U.S. military overseas”

“New technologies developed at Kennedy Space Center for the space program eventually end up in use by mainstream America or even other countries. One technology in particular has made it into the hands of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Standing Wave Reflectometer is a prototype of an instrument used to test for failures in wires. The technology was developed by Pedro Medelius, associate program manager and chief scientist with ASRC Aerospace Corp. at KSC. Medelius developed the handheld meter in response to a space shuttle ground-processing request in 1996 for cable wiring fault detectors. The technology enables the user to rapidly connect to wiring assemblies and detect and locate hard faults. Medelius said the unit performs the test in four seconds, displays the fault location in readable alphanumeric characters and has computer-based training that requires only 45 minutes to complete.

Eclypse Marketing Director Chris Teal said the meters are included in more than 250 battle damage assessment and repair kits for the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps. Fort Eustis in Virginia has integrated 100 units into the Army Aviation Logistics School’s training curriculum. Plans are to train 1,000 troops a year in locating and repairing battle damage on aviation assets. These meters were provided to the Army at no cost from the U.S. Navy in a joint-effort program. According to Teal, major airlines around the world including Continental, Qantas, United Airlines, Delta, Swiss Defense Aerospace Groups and all of the major aircraft manufacturers have purchased the units to test for failures and reduce the need to disassemble sections of the aircraft to make repairs. Smaller business jet companies have also purchased the units. “It is such an important technology,” Medelius said. “And it’s very satisfying to know that this technology developed for NASA has applications in our military and our commercial aviation industry.”

After developing and testing the prototype, NASA filed for a U.S. patent in 1997 and it was granted two years later. KSC’s Technology Transfer Office offered the product for licensing to applicable companies. The exclusive license was granted to Eclypse International in Corona, Calif. The company developed and is marketing the meter as the ESPHand-held Standing Wave Reflectometer. Medelius said he is impressed with the proactive way the Technology Transfer Office is marketing KSC-developed technologies to the commercial world.”

-By Linda Herridge, Staff Writer