Damien, UH grad helps plan space trip
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer
Award-winning work by a Damien Memorial High School and UH grad has played a big role in America's planned return to space in June.
Photo by Amber Marek, NASA
Chris Davis, senior project manager for spaceport engineering and technology at Kennedy Space Center, helped complete two high-priority shuttle projects — one involving the orbiter's thermal protection system and the other on external tank foam inspection — that met NASA's new return-to-flight requirements after the February 2003 Columbia disaster.
NASA employee Chris Davis, a Damien Memorial and UH graduate, is working to make space flight safer.
The Columbia Accident Investigation Board's report attributed the disaster to a suitcase-size chunk of foam insulation that broke away from the external fuel tank and slammed into the left wing of the shuttle, 81.7 seconds after liftoff. With the shuttle traveling at 1,650 miles per hour, or twice the speed of sound, engineers calculated the foam struck the wing at 530 mph, opening a hole in the wing and damaging heat shield tiles.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration report also said the management system failed to recognize frequent foam shedding as a potential lethal defect before Columbia's launch. Review of camera footage a day after the January 2003 launch failed to detect an exact impact point or whether it caused any damage, the report said. Failure to recognize the severity of the foam strike eliminated any chance to attempt repairs in orbit or launch a rescue mission to save the seven-member shuttle crew, who were killed during re-entry.
Age: 49 Family: Single Position: Senior project manager for spaceport engineering and technology, Kennedy Space Center; chairman External Tank Foam Non-Destructive Evaluation team. Home: Merritt Island, Fla. Honors: Space Flight Awareness Award, the space shuttle program's highest award. Education: Damien Memorial (1973), lettered in varsity soccer; B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from UH-Manoa (1983); master's in mechanical engineering, University of Central Florida (1990). Hobby: Member of Wah Lum Northern Praying Mantis Kung Fu performance team. Hawai'i connection: Brother Marc Davis and aunt Stella Duc are O'ahu residents.
Davis' team addressed both issues. They determined through tests how much damage space shuttle tiles could tolerate, and developed a laser technique called shearography to ensure that the foam, which is used to keep fuel cool, would not come off the external fuel tank during launch and ascent.
Who: Chris Davis
The space shuttle program recently recognized the achievements by presenting Davis with its highest individual honor, the Space Flight Awareness Award.
Davis moved to Hawai'i from San Francisco at age 11 and lived here until 1983, the year he graduated from University of Hawai'i-Manoa with a degree in mechanical engineering.
"I think it's recognition of 15 years of dedicated work," he said in a telephone interview from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "It's not just a job for me, it's a commitment.
"When I learned about the (orbiter thermal protection) system impact testing, I jumped at the opportunity to do it," said Davis. The testing facility was set up in August 2003.
The testing involved shooting small projectiles at different speeds through a pneumatic tube toward a target to determine how much damage bottom orbiter tile test panels could tolerate, said Amber Marek of NASA's public affairs office. The shuttle program has reduced the allowable foam size to control the damage debris can inflict on tile as a result of the tests, according to Marek.
"Think of it as a CO2-powered rifle and the foam as bullets hitting targets at different speeds," Davis said.
Photo by Amber Marek, NASA
Davis has published several papers on shearography. His method will be used to help prepare for space shuttle Discovery's return to flight on June 15.
Chris Davis has published several papers on shearography. His methods will be used to help prepare for a return to space
"A lot of people have been working hard and long and have made great strides," Davis said of the June launch goal. "We're doing everything we can to make it successful."
NASA has taken a lot of effort to ensure safety, Davis said, but "the lesson we learned from Columbia is ... research and development has to be ongoing to make it safe to fly. "
Davis worked from 1983-1990 for the Navy in San Francisco, mainly on the P-3 anti-submarine aircraft. In 1990, he accepted a job as a space shuttle system engineer at Kennedy Space Center. There have been 110 shuttle flights and Davis said he's worked on about 70 of them.
"If the state of Hawai'i builds a spaceport on the Big Island, I'd love to work there," said Davis, who also would like to teach engineering someday at UH.
Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8181.
