Beyond the direct application of the proposed technology for detecting leaks to vacuum in pressurized space vehicles, significant opportunities exist within the more broad application field of applying PZT sensor arrays to Nondestructive Evaluation. Opportunities for the proposed technology in the areas of Military Weapons Systems Monitoring, Industrial / Chemical Processing Facility Monitoring, and Commercial Aircraft Test and Evaluation will be pursued, among others. The NASA program with the most risk due to Micro-meteor / Orbital Debris (MMOD) is currently the International Space Station, due to the prolonged exposure on-orbit and the large surface area of the orbiting habitat. For this reason, it is particularly important that the system be able to be installed easily in a retrofit manner behind closeout blankets in easily accessible areas. Additionally, it must be fully self-contained, requiring only minimal data interfaces to the ISS for data transfer to the crew and ground controllers. Although the risk to the Shuttle from MMOD is largely considered to be due to the RCC panels of the Wing Leading Edge and Nose Cone, significant risk is still present in the pressurized portions of the vehicle. Additionally, such a system could be used to monitor for leaks in the airlocks and other sealed vacuum interfaces. As part of the Orion Program, NASA will attempt to increase safety by an order of magnitude over the current Shuttle vehicle. MMOD is a major source of risk for the Shuttle, and will continue to be a risk for the Orion, despite its improved MMOD shielding. The proposed system could likely be fully integrated with the Orion avionics systems, providing continuous monitoring of the entire structure while requiring only minimal vehicle resources and launch mass, as well as very little maintenance.
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