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Home My WebLink AboutHuron Expositor, 2004-08-25, Page 11News TNI HURON ampos TOR, Aug. 25, 2004-11 Iceculture helping NASA return to flight By Clint Hoggort News -Record Staff Iceculture, Inc., a Hensall- based ice sculpture creating company, is doing its part for National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Return to Flight program. NASA has postponed manned space -flights since the Columbia Shuttle disaster of 2003. Through the Return to Flight program, NASA hopes to improve safety measures for shuttle -craft, before people are sent back into space. Matthew Melis, an aerospace engineer at the NASA Glenn Research Centre in Cleveland, Ohio, said Iceculture is making ice projectiles for use in ballistic impact research. He spoke at the Hensall business last Wednesday. The Columbia Shuttle disaster was cause by a piece of foam insulation that broke off the bipod ramp of the shuttle's external tank and damaged the leading edge of the shuttle. Melis said the foam, which weighed between one and two pounds, struck the the reinforced carbon carbon (RCC) leading edge of the shuttle's lower -left wing at 700 to 800 feet a second. He equated the impact to thousands of pounds of force. The RCC leading edges are capable of handling 3,000 degree fahrenheit during reentry, said Melis, adding because the RCC on the lower left wing was breached, the materials it protected were vaporized during reentry. Melis said NASA started its ballistic impact research with foam projectiles being fired at the leading edge. Because ice sometimes forms on the external tank of the shuttle craft, he said NASA decided to fire ice projectilestat the leading edge and other parts of the shuttle as well. "At launch, the shuttle experiences ice forming on the outside skin caused by cryogenic gas and we need to know exactly what happens if pieces break off and hit the shuttles skin. We want to find out what damage might be caused to the skin and other components," said Melis yin a press release. Iceculture, Inc. is making ice projectiles to precise measurements for NASA. It was noted that they must be made of pure water, have no air bubbles and no cracks or scratches. It is made in different shapes so accurate testing is ensured. Melis said Iceculture, Inc. was the only place NASA found that could create the Hilary long photo Matthew Melis, an aerospace engineer with NASA Glenn Research Centre in Cleveland, Ohio, shows the piece of shuttle that was breached by a piece of foam and led to the 2003 Columbia Space Shuttle disaster. type of ice needed for the ballistic impact research. The ice is shot of out projectile guns in a vacuum at the RCC to see how much force the carbon material can handle. Melis showed Iceculture, Inc. staff videos of the testing. Eventually, the aerospace engineer said the ice will be used in a full-scale test, as was the foam. Foam was fired at 775 feet per second at a piece of the RCC on the full scale test. On video, it appeared the foam penetrated the RCC and passed through the $1.5 million panel. In slow motion, the foam could be seen bouncing off the shattered RCC. In a press release, Ann Bayley, president of Iceculture, said, "The shipping, handling and transport costs, coupled with the dry ice we sent with each package far outweigh the value of the ice itself, but the fact that we're helping NASA is pretty exciting." The ice is being used at the NASA Glenn Centre, the Johnson Control Centre in Houston, Tex., the White Sands Test Range, N.M., and the South West Research Centre in San Antonio, Tex. a R!MOV*L vel & clean-up truck service chipping Grinding Rolling Bond • . 519.482.3976 AIR CONDITIONING & HEATING SPECIALISTS 1 repr '. •(1 l2/ r Chant n.1pt,i igor,ation. 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