john f. kennedy space center brevard county, florida - Environmental ...

NAME(S): Thermal Protection Systems Facility (TPSF)
FACILITY NO.: K6-794
FLORIDA MASTER SITE FILE NO.: 8BR1994
LOCATION: Vehicle Assembly Building Area, across from the OPF
PROPERTY TYPE: Manufacturing and Assembly Facilities
DATE(S): 1988
ARCHITECT/ENGINEER: Jacobs Engineering Group
USE (ORIGINAL/CURRENT): This facility was built specifically to manufacture thermal
protection system (TPS) materials for use in the Space Shuttle. The original and current functions
are the same.
HISTORICAL DATA: The TPSF is used for the manufacture and repair of the Space Shuttle’s
thermal protection and thermal control systems, which include tiles, gap fillers, and insulation
blankets, as well as coatings and adhesives. The four basic thermal materials include Reinforced
Carbon-Carbon (RCC), Low-Temperature Reusable Surface Insulation (LRSI) tiles, High-
Temperature Reusable Surface Insulation (HRSI) tiles, and Felt Reusable Surface Insulation
(RSI) blankets. Also, toughened uni-piece fibrous insulation (TUFI) tiles, developed in 1993, are
used on limited areas of the orbiter. More recently, white advanced flexible reusable surface
insulation blankets (AFRSI) have replaced the use of LRSI in some areas, and black fibrous
refractory composite insulation (FRCI) tiles have replaced some of the HRSI tiles in selected
areas of the orbiter. Each unique tile undergoes a process which takes it from raw materials
through finished product; the gap fillers and blankets are assembled from pre-made fabrics.
Ceramic reusable surface insulation was originally developed by the Lockheed Missile and Space
Company. Tiles for the Space Shuttle were originally made at Lockheed’s Sunnyvale, California
plant. In the mid-1980s, Rockwell took over the manufacture of thermal protection system
materials in Palmdale, California. In 1990, the first tiles made at KSC were produced in the OPF
High Bay 2. Subsequently, the operation was moved to the new TPSF. Following their
manufacture, TPS products are delivered to the OPS for installation on the orbiter.
DESCRIPTION: The TPSF is a one- and two-story Industrial Vernacular style building, with
approximate overall dimensions of 340 feet (ft) in length (east-west), 100 ft in width (northsouth),
and 29 ft in height. The exterior walls have a structural steel skeleton, which is clad with
insulated metal sheeting, and the facility sits on a poured concrete slab foundation and has a flat,
built-up roof. The one-story portion of the TPSF is located at the west end of the structure, and
measures approximately 240 ft in length (east-west), 100 ft in width and stands 17 ft in height.
The two-story section is at the east end of the building, and has rough dimensions of 100 ft in
length and width.
The main façade of the TPSF is the south elevation, which faces the Orbiter Towway. This
elevation has six single metal swing doors, four pairs of metal swing doors, and one metal rolling
door. There are also six ventilation louvers spaced over the eastern end of the one-story portion.
The east elevation has a pair of metal swing doors on the first and second floor levels, the latter of
which is accessed via a set of metal steps. There is also a single metal swing door on the second