As part of the Return-to-Flight programme instituted after the Columbia disaster, API supplied multiple terahertz T-Ray QA1000 systems for non-destructive testing of Space Shuttle external fuel tanks
Picometrix became involved with Nasa shortly after the space shuttle Columbia disaster upon re-entry in 2005.
The sprayed-on foam insulation (Sofi) on the external fuel tank was ultimately determined to have caused the Columbia disaster due to pieces breaking off and damaging the leading edge of the left wing at lift-off.
The T-Ray QA1000 system has been validated by Nasa as a critical pre-flight quality control inspection system for the external fuel tanks on the Space Shuttle, at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, LA.
Nasa intends to utilise the fourth-generation T-Ray 4000 at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) to institute a new level of non-destructive evaluation and quality control for the space shuttle itself.
The heart of the T-Ray 4000 is the pulsed terahertz controller.
The controller is described as the most full-featured, self-contained time-domain terahertz (TD-THz) engine in the world.
The small size of the T-ray 4000 and its fibre-coupled sensors fit the needs of Nasa very well at KSC due to the sensitive nature of the space shuttle.
Richard (Rick) Kurtz, chairman and CEO of API, stated: "We are very excited to have the opportunity to continue working with Nasa engineers to solve critical quality control problems today, thereby helping to ensure the safety of space travel in the future".
The T-Ray 4000 is the new compact, high-resolution, high-speed, high-power, modular product platform.
This product platform is designed to be easily adapted to end user and OEM requirements for future on-line quality control, defense, and homeland security applications.
"We believe the T-Ray 4000 is a major advancement in terahertz technology, and will hasten the day when terahertz based commercial and industrial applications are widely deployed," added Irl Duling, director of terahertz business development at Picometrix.
