The Calibrations of Space Shuttle Main Engines High Pressure Transducers

Previously, high pressure transducers that were used on the Space Shuttles Main Engine (SSME) exhibited a severe drift after being tested on the SSME. The Experimental Testing Technology Division (ETTD) designed some new transducers that would not exhibit a severe drift over a short period of time. These transducers were calibrated at the Test Bed at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). After the high pressure transducers were calibrated, the transducers were placed on the SSME and fired. The transducers were then sent to the NASA LaRC to be recalibrated. The main objectives of the recalibrations was to make sure that the transducers possessed the same qualities as they did before they were fired on the SSME. Other objectives of the project were to determine the stability of the transducers and to determine whether the transducers exhibited a severe drift.