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Vehicle Upgrades: Flex Hoses

The Rotating Service Structure is rolled back at Launch Pad 39B revealing Space Shuttle Discovery.
The Rotating Service Structure is rolled back at Launch Pad 39B revealing Space Shuttle Discovery. A propellant-loading test of Discovery's External Tank (ET) is scheduled for April 14. During the test, the tank will be filled to launch levels with ultra-cold hydrogen and oxygen propellants, known as "cryogenics." The test is designed to evaluate how the tank, orbiter, Solid Rocket Boosters and ground systems are performing under full "cryo-load." Throughout testing, engineers will observe the effectiveness of key safety modifications made to the External Tank.

Among many of the systems looked at on the orbiters has been the use of flex hoses used throughout the vehicle. NASA, USA and Boeing have inspected every hose on the vehicle. Boeing broadened that evaluation to look at all flex hoses of that design with the metal bellows, on the order of 200 hoses per vehicle with some of them covered by insulation that we' d prefer not to remove. The inspection method, developed by Boeing, uses X-rays to see through the insulation.