VideoRay
Underwater Robot Helps Recover Thrust Reverser Lost from Space
Shuttle Trainer Jet
Sonar and Metal Detectors Locate
Reverser, VideoRay Positively Identifies It
 photos
available
Orlando, FL, April 7, 2004 – VideoRay announced today that
Steve Van Meter, a hazardous duty robotics specialist at NASA,
helped solve the mystery of the missing thrust reverser that fell
from a training jet during a practice flight this past January.
Using a VideoRay ROV (remotely operated vehicle), Van Meter positively
identified the 585-pound reverser in five feet of muddy water in
the Banana River, which runs by Cape Canaveral. The reverser was
lost during the jet’s steep dive that simulates a shuttle's
plunge toward a runway.
Van Meter sent the VideoRay into the water after a metal detector
and an Imagenex side-scan sonar system (www.imagenex.com) discovered
the likely location of the reverser in five feet of water. The
VideoRay positively identified the reverser with its video camera,
despite extremely poor visibility. The underwater robot’s
propellers do not stir up silt, which enabled Van Meter to visually
identify the object (see photos
online).
The VideoRay stayed with it until dive teams arrived an hour later.
Recovery divers followed the VideoRay’s yellow tether to
guide them in salty, low-visibility waters and several feet of
mud. The dive team used airbags to float the reverser to the surface.
A crane parked on the causeway bridge lifted the reverser to a
truck (see photos online). According to the Spaceport News, an
official publication of Kennedy Space Center, “the recovery
team saved the Agency $110,000 by retrieving the part rather than
hiring a salvage contractor that couldn’t guarantee a recovery
in shallow water.”
Van Meter found the reverser when he extended the search area
after new calculations, based on software used to predict the trajectory
of rocks being thrown from a volcano, were conducted. He spotted
it 30 minutes later at the center of the new search grid, where “x
marked the spot,” says Van Meter. “As soon as we saw
the target on the sonar screen, we knew we had found it.”
Van Meter became familiar with what the reverser target might
look like underwater by scanning a 55-gallon drum before the search
began. To keep track of his location, he used a hand-held GPS and
downloaded coordinates to a PC so he could analyze the data on
a map. Van Meter positively identified the reverser by entering
it and capturing views of its exterior with the VideoRay.
Joe Gerky, NASA flight maintenance officer for the NASA Gulfstream
2 fleet, commented, “No question – the VideoRay was
the only remotely operated vehicle that could enter the thruster.
We were pleased to have the right tool to identify the thruster
and assist divers in recovery.”
The VideoRay ROV "flies" like a remote control plane
underwater and uses a high-resolution color video camera to capture
underwater views, which are displayed for the operator on a topside
monitor.
The VideoRay requires
less than 400 watts of 100-240VAC power and can be plugged into
a standard wall outlet, a battery with inverter, or a small generator.
See more real-life stories of underwater recoveries
with VideoRays at www.videoray.com.
Read NASA's coverage of the thruster recovery
in their "SpacePort
News".
See and download print quality story images from www.videoray.com/Press_Room/thruster_search_photos.htm
General product images for print are available at www.videoray.com/Press_Room/photo_gallery.com
Contact VideoRay LLC • 400 Eagleview Blvd. • Exton,
PA 19341 USA • Phone: (610) 458-3000 • FAX: (610) 458-3010 • www.videoray.com
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