Capt. Ravi Chaudhary, a flight test engineer and NASA graduate fellow, is helping NASA change that by bringing his Air Force perspective and training to a space-based problem that could have international consequences aboard the International Space Station.

Teamed with space administration systems engineer Steve Hall, Chaudhary is trying to perfect a patch for puncture holes up to eight inches in diameter. Similar damage, caused by orbiting space junk or small meteors, occurs often to satellites and even the space shuttle, which once landed with a cracked windshield caused by an errant paint chip floating at 44,000 miles per hour.

The problem is even more serious for inhabitants of the space station, whose orbiting mobile home will be exposed to space litter for years. A stray screw that punctures the pressurized skin of a module of the station threatens lives. The solution is a patch that space-walking astronauts can quickly apply to the exterior, so that section can resume holding air pressure and astronauts.

"It's going to plug the hole up so they can fire things up in the module and then do a more permanent repair later," said Chaudhary, who works at the 339th Flight Test Squadron at Robins Air Force Base, Ga.

A quick repair will also prevent "the zipper effect," which has its analogy in the homily "a stitch in time saves nine."

"Under the stress of motion in orbit, a small hole can quickly become a big tear that is irreparable." Chaudhary said this patch, used in time, may save the entire module.

While not as easy to use as a can of flat-fixer, the space patch, developed by engineers at Sverdrup Inc., has to be relatively easy for astronauts to install while floating in zero Gs in a bulky space suit. Chaudhary and other project engineers field-tested the solution to that challenge June 30 through July 2 at the neutral buoyancy laboratory here -- a 202-foot-by 102-foot pool that simulates a low-gravity environment. The tests allow NASA astronauts to practice installing the patch on a space-station mock-up that sits at the bottom of the 40-foot deep pool.

Installing the patch -- called KERMIt, for Kit for Repair of Module impacts -- starts with placing a clear plastic plate with a foam gasket ring over the hole. A toggle bolt through the center of the plate holds it in place against the hull, while a metal plate on the inside of this newly created cavity keeps adhesive, which is injected into the space, from flowing into the station module.

Tests in the simulated space environment allow astronauts like Linda Godwin, who practiced installing the patch July 1, to provide feedback -- positive and negative -- on the design. They also act as gatekeepers, giving the OK for continued development of successful designs.

Chaudhary, an Air-Force Academy-schooled aeronautical engineer working on his master's thesis in industrial engineering, brings more to the project than book knowledge. His experience with air battle damage repair as a flight test engineer lets him bring a new perspective to the space project.

"The Air Force has years of experience repairing battle-damaged aircraft skin quickly -- I think there's a T.O. (technical order) for every aircraft in the inventory," Chaudhary said.

"We're only just now becoming interested in repairing this type of damage as we leave vehicles in orbit for longer periods of time," added Hall. "The Air Force has a lot of experience in this area."

Although the Air Force method of repairing the skin of an aircraft can't be used on space systems -- milling out a hole or tear creates more space debris and isn't feasible during space walks -- Chaudhary has nonetheless provided inputs that have improved the way astronauts will do repairs. He suggested ways to control the flow of adhesive on the back side of the patch after reviewing numerical data and videotape of patch tests that took place on a KC-135. The jet flew in a parabola to simulate zero Gs for up to 30 seconds, allowing engineers to see how the adhesive might flow in space.

Interested in human systems engineering, Chaudhary was also concerned about the amount of time it took astronauts to twist a large nut -- used to secure the patch to the test hull -- into place. The result of that concern was the idea to replace the standard nut with a zip nut that can be pushed down the length of the toggle bolt, and then twisted into place.

In September of 2000, NASA will field a product that may save astronauts. But Chaudhary said the Air Force will also benefit from his stint with NASA.

"Every new learning experience allows more insight into the needs of the customer," he said. "This creates 'engineering judgment' -- something that can't be quantified, but which makes a better engineer."

Chaudhary added that his experience has started an information exchange between the Air Force and the space agency that will persist even after his fellowship ends in September.

"These relationships withstand the limits of the work," he said. "They will be kept even as I move on."

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