Equipping a new health management system controller for Rocketdyne space shuttle main engines.

Endevco Corp. provided advanced accelerometers for new main engine controllers used in the latest space shuttle launch. On August 8, a trio of main engines provided by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne lifted the space shuttle Endeavour into orbit and on its way to the International Space Station. The Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) were fitted with new controllers, using Endevco model 7704M7 vibration sensors, to actively monitor engine health and performance.

All three Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne SSMEs, the world’s only reusable rocket engines, carried the new Advanced Health Management System (AHMS) controllers which monitor engine turbopump vibration and can automatically shut down an engine if conditions warrant. The controllers also track a history of key performance parameters. This was the first mission in which all three controllers were in active mode and enabled to prompt actions in the engine systems if unacceptable vibration levels were detected during the 8.5 minute firing of the engines during launch. The AHMS controller improves flight safety by offering quick and automatic response to potential problems in the event they occur.

“We are honored to have been selected to provide a critical component for an innovative system designed to support efforts by NASA and Pratt & Whitney in continually improving safety for NASA Shuttle crews,” says Endevco President Scott Silcock. “Opportunities like this also provide vital experience in extreme environments that we can apply throughout our development of sensing solutions for aerospace and other applications that demand consistently high performance levels.”

The Endevco model 7704 series Isoshear® piezoelectric accelerometers are designed to be stable and insensitive to environmental inputs such as base bending and thermal transients. The accelerometer series has been tested in a radiation environment up to 108 rads without performance degradation and features Endevco’s Piezite® Type P-8 crystal element, operating in shear mode. In addition, it is a self-generating device that requires no external power source for operation, according to the company.

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