SEDL / STP / STP989-EB / STP26315S


Propellant Handler's Ensemble: A New-Generation SCAPE

Ahmie, KS
Section supervisor, Spacecraft and Storables, Engineering Development, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Kennedy Space Center, FL


Pages: 8    Published: Jan 1988


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Abstract

Kennedy Space Center is currently using a self-contained atmospheric protective ensemble (SCAPE) inventory which is more than 20 years old. The present inventory is being replaced with a new-generation SCAPE—the propellant handler's ensemble (PHE). The PHE has design features which allow it to have a leakage rate less than 100 cm3/s (6.1 in.3/s) when tested at an internal positive pressure of 1494.5 N/m2 (31.2 lbf/ft2). Manned testing in helium atmospheres shows the PHE to have excellent protection against inward leakage. Extensive testing was performed on the materials that would be exposed to the hazardous atmospheres. Testing with both hypergolic fuel and oxidizer proved the ensemble very capable of meeting both nominal as well as extreme atmospheric hazards.


Keywords:
self-contained atmospheric protective ensemble (SCAPE), propellant handler's ensemble (PHE), aerozine-50 (A-50), monomethylhydrazine (MMH), unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH), nitrogen tetroxide (N, 2, O, 4, ), nitrogen dioxide (NO, 2, ), environmental control system (ECS), emergency air supply (EAS), breathing air, chlorobutyl-coated Nomex fabric, adhesive, thermoplastic rubber, environmental testing, solar radiation, propellant exposure testing

Paper ID: STP26315S
Committee/Subcommittee: F23.96
DOI: 10.1520/STP26315S
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