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

floor level, accessed by these stairs. The north elevation contains seven, single metal swing doors
and three ventilation louvers, spaced across the façade. The west elevation has one single and
one pair of metal swing doors and two metal rolling doors The west elevation of the two-story
portion contains two ventilation louvers.
The interior of the first floor of the TPSF is based on a double-loaded corridor plan, and contains
the TPS tile production and storage areas, as well as the general office spaces. The TPS tile
machining shop sits at the southwest corner of the TPSF, and measures approximately 93 ft in
length (east-west) and 63 ft in width (north-south). Its walls are faced with painted wallboard,
and it has a poured concrete floor and an acoustical tile ceiling with recessed fluorescent light
fixtures. The room is accessed from the facility’s main corridor by a pair of metal swing doors on
the east wall. On the west wall is a second pair of metal swing doors, as well as a metal rolling
door, both of which lead to the exterior. Since construction, the southeast corner of the
machining shop has been subdivided to form two small support rooms, including an office, and a
control room for the computerized TPS tile cutters. Two additional rooms have been built along
the north wall, which are used as maintenance storage areas. Within the machining shop, there
are five TPS tile cutters, two of which are operated by hand. There is also a variety of work
tables, which support the various functions of the shop.
To the immediate north of the TPS tile machining rooms are the TPS tile coating room and the
kiln/heat clean room. The TPS tile coating room is accessed from the north side of the main
facility corridor by a pair of metal swing doors. There is also a metal swing door along the north
wall for exterior access. The room measures roughly 36 ft in length (east-west) and 34 ft in width
(north-south), and has painted walls, a poured concrete floor, and an acoustical tile ceiling with
recessed fluorescent light fixtures. This room contains four spraying booths, used for the
application of reaction-cured glass coatings to the TPS tiles, drying booths, and various
workstations. Along the west wall is a 7-foot by 7-foot clean room, which serves as the access
point for the kiln/heat clean room. Each end of the clean room (west and east) has a pair of metal
swing doors. The kiln/heat clean room has approximate dimensions of 60 ft in length and 34 ft in
width, with the same interior finishes as the TPS tile coating room. Aside from the clean room,
there is a metal swing door on both the north and west walls, and a metal rolling door on the west
wall, all of which provide exterior access. Within this room are two Grieve heat-cleaning ovens,
and various Keith elevator ovens for baking TPS tile.
To the east of the TPS tile coating room is the strain isolator pad (SIP) and bond transfer room.
This room measures about 50 ft in length (east-west) and 44 ft in width (north-south), and is
accessed from the main corridor by a pair of metal swing doors on the south wall. On its north
wall is a single metal swing door, providing outside access. Like the other rooms discussed, it
has walls of painted wallboard, a poured concrete floor, and an acoustical tile ceiling with
recessed fluorescent light fixtures. Within this room are a series of specialized work stations and
machines for the production of the SIP and the bonding agent used in the application of TPS tile
to the orbiter. To the east of this room is the densification and waterproofing room, which
measures approximately 47 ft in length (east-west) and 44 ft in width (north-south). Like the
SIP/bond transfer room, the densification room is accessed from the main corridor by a pair of
metal swing doors, and has a single metal swing door on its north wall for exterior access. Also,
it has walls of painted wallboard, a poured concrete floor, and an acoustical tile ceiling with
recessed fluorescent light fixtures. Within the densification room is a series of vacuum ovens
used to dry and waterproof various components of the TPS.
The second floor of the east end of the TPSF contains the Softgoods Manufacturing Room, which
is essentially a large sewing facility. This room measures approximately 100 ft in length (north-