CTRL Government Solutions: NASA

CTRL was introduced to NASA in February of 2001. With a few modifications by CTRL's research and development team, the UL101 was tested and approved for Space Flight, passing all tests on the very first try. The first UL101 was delivered to the International Space Station in July 2001 and was used to test the newly installed air lock with great success.

The UL101 has been successfully used on numerous occasions in the last several years, prompting NASA to outfit each one of the Space Shuttles and supply the Space Station with a second sensor.

Implementation

• ISS - 2001 (February) - First meeting with NASA at Johnson Space Center; demonstration of product to engineers, astronauts, etc. with other competitive devices. Based upon performance, ease of use, etc. CTRL UL101 selected for further testing, consideration for R&D to develop space hardened ultrasound detector.
• ISS - 2001 (March) - Delivered first units for testing. CTRL also delivered the first space-hardened ultrasound detector, which was tested and passed all of the safety/performance tests on the first attempt (less than 5% of products accomplish this task).
• ISS - 2001 (July) - First UL101 ultrasound detector delivered to the International Space Station to ensure proper installation of air lock. UL101 is to be used for 1 year.
• ISS 2002 - Due to performance, UL101 is approved as a permanent fixture on board the International Space Station
• Orbiters 2002 - UL101 is approved as standard equipment for all shuttle missions and will accompany each launch aboard the Space Shuttles.
• ISS 2004 (Jan) - US Mission Commander Michael Foale, working with Russian colleague Alexander Kaleri, used the UL101 to find a leak in a flex hose of a lab window. video
• ISS 2004 (Sept) - A new flex hose was installed. The UL101 was used to verify proper installation.
• ISS 2005 - Due to success and mission critical inspections for leak detection and general diagnostics, a second UL101 is made standard equipment on board the International Space Station.
• ISS 2005 (June) - Depressurization indicated a potential leak in a newly installed manual pressurization equilization valve. The UL101 was used for testing of the leak with rate ~ 5mm Hg over eight hours.
• Orbiter 2007 (July) - The UL101 was used to search for a leak in the cabin of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. more
• ISS 2007 (Nov) - Expedition 16 crew used the UL101 to confirm there was no leak in the new Harmony connecting module as earlier indicated. more
• ISS 2008 (Feb) - UL101 used to inspect Absorbent/Desorbent Bed of the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly.

Applications

The UL101 Ultrasound Sensor is being utilized by NASA on the International Space Station and all of the Orbiters. The UL101, called Ultrasonic Leak Detector (ULD) by NASA, serves as a maintenance/contingency tool to determine leaks in the following areas: gas line connections, new valves, hatches and any other leak situations that arise. While on-orbit, other non-critical uses for the ULD Mission Kit (based on the success of demonstrated ground tests) will continue to be explored.

The ULD was first used to obtain real-time measurements to evaluate the integrity of the Orbiter to Airlock low and high pressure interconnect lines. It was also utilized in the evaluation of the Hatch seal integrity prior to the schedule pressurized leak check.

As a result of the tests outlined in this document, the UL101 was certified for ISS Cargo Flight Safety. The certificate number is STS104/NASA/OP2/010. The UL101 may be stowed and used on the both the U.S. and Russian segments of the International Space Station.