Full report

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NASA Technical Memorandum 10 0 633 4 - '--? Pyrotechnic System Failures: Causes and Prevention : N A S A - T H - 100633) PYROTECHNIC SYSTEM N88-26394 FAILURES: CAUSES A N D PBEVENTION [ N A S A ) 42 P Laurence J. Bement June 1 9 8 8 NatonalAeronaulcsand Space Admnistraton Langley Research Center Hampton,Virginia 23665-5225 C S C L 198 U n c l a s HI118 0 1 5 1 3 4 5

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PREFACE T h i s p a p e r was m o t i v a t e d by a n e a r l y 1986 e x p r e s s i o n o f c o n c e r n a b o u t r e c e n t p r o b l e m s a n d f a i l u r e s o f f l i g h t p y r o t e c h n i c h a r d w a r e by Norman R . S c h u l z e , N A S A H e a d q u a r t e r s , t h e n O f f i c e o f t h e C h i e f E n g i n e e r , a n d now O f f i c e o f S a f e t y , R e l i a b i l i t y , M a i n t a i n a b i l i t y a n d Q u a l i t y A s s u r a n c e . The L a n g l e y R e s e a r c h C e n t e r (LaRC) was r e q u e s t e d t o t a k e t h e l e a d r o l e i n c o m p i l i n g a n i n v e s t i g a t i o n a b o u t t h e e x t e n t o f t h i s p r o b l e m a n d t o e x p l o r e t h e t e c h n i c a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e f i e l d o f p y r o t e c h n i c t e c h n o l o g y . The e m p h a s i s on t h i s e f f o r t is s u b s t a n t i a t e d by t h e o v e r a l l a s s u m p t i o n i n t h e d e s i g n community t h a t p y r o t e c h n i c s are s i m p l e , w e l l - d e f i n e d a n d t h o r o u g h l y u n d e r s t o o d d e v i c e s t o which w e r o u t i n e l y e n t r u s t m i s s i o n - c r i t i c a l as w e l l as s a f e t y - o f - f l i g h t f u n c - t i o n s . The f i r s t a c t i o n was a May 15, 1986, NASA/DOD s u r v e y from L a n g l e y e n t i t l e d , " S o l i c i t a t i o n o f I n t e r e s t i n a C o o r d i n a t e d P y r o t e c h n i c T e c h n o l o g y E f f o r t Among C e n t e r s . " Two m e e t i n g s f o l l o w e d , o n e on November 13 a n d 14, 1986, a t t h e NASA L a n g l e y R e s e a r c h C e n t e r , a n d t h e o t h e r on A p r i l 29 a n d 30, 1987, a t t h e NASA J o h n s o n S p a c e C e n t e r , w i t h r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s from e a c h NASA C e n t e r , t h e A i r F o r c e S p a c e D i v i s i o n , a n d t h e N a v a l S u r f a c e W a r f a r e C e n t e r . T h e s e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s a r e now t h e n u c l e u s o f t h e NASA/DOD A e r o s p a c e S t e e r i n g Committee, whose o b j e c t i v e is to p r o v i d e t h e NASA P y r o t e c h n i c S y s t e m s a n d DOD w i t h a p o l i c y a n d p o s t u r e which w i l l i n c r e a s e t h e s a f e t y , p e r f o r m a n c e , q u a l i t y a n d r e l i a b i l i t y o f a e r o s p a c e p y r o t e c h n i c s y s t e m s . The NASA/DOD A e r o s p a c e P y r o t e c h n i c S y s t e m s S t e e r i n g Committee h a s b e e n t h e p r i m a r y s o u r c e o f i n f o r m a t i o n f o r t h e c o m p i l a t i o n o f f a i l u r e s p r e s e n t e d i n t h i s p a p e r , a n d t h e members h a v e p a r t i c i p a t e d i n t h e d a t a a n a l y s i s a n d f i n a l r e v i e w o f t h i s r e p o r t . The t h o r o u g h n e s s a n d t r a c e a b i l i t y o f t h e f a i l u r e s p r e s e n t e d h e r e i n a r e n o t g e r m a i n e t o t h i s s t u d y , s i n c e o n l y a n i n d i c a t i o n o f p y r o t e c h n i c p r o b l e m s w a s s o u g h t . SUMMARY Althoucjh p y r o t e c h n i c s h a v e s u c c e s s f u l l y s e r v e d a c r i t i c a l role i n accomnplishing s p a c e c r a f t m e c h a n i c a l f u n c t i o n s , f a i l u r e s c o n t i n u e t o o c c u r . R e c e n t o c c u r r e n c e s prompted Norman R. S c h u l z e , NASA H e a d q u a r t e r s , t o i n i t i a t e a s u r v e y t o d e t e r m i n e t h e f r e q u e n c y a n d c a u s e . T h i s p a p e r d e s c r i b e s a s u r v e y c:ompiLed f o r a 23-year p e r i o d which i n c l u d e s 8 4 s e r i o u s component or s y s t e m l d i l u r e s , 12 o c c u r r e d i n f l i g h t , w i t h f u l l y d e v e l o p e d a n d q u a l i f i e d h a r d w a r e . A n a l y s e s a r e p r e s e n t e d as t o when a n d where t h e s e f a i l u r e s o c c u r r e d , t h e i r t e c h n i c a l s o u r c e o r c a u s e , f o l l o w e d by t h e r e a s o n s why and how t h e s e k i n d s o f f a i l u r e s c o n t i n u e t o o c c u r . The r e s u l t s o f t h e s e e f f o r t s f r e q u e n t l y i n d i c a t e d a f u n d a m e n t a l l a c k o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e f u n c t i o n a l mechanisms o f p y r o t e c h n i c d e v i c e s a n d s y s t e m s , f o l l o w e d by n o t r e c o g n i z i n g p y r o t e c h n i c s as a n e n g i - n e e r i n g t e c h n o l o g y , i n s u f f i c i e n t manpower w i t h "hands-on1' e x p e r i e n c e which h a s led t o a heavy d e p e n d e n c e on m a n u f a c t u r e r s , too few i n - h o u s e test f a c i l i t i e s ,

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a n d i n a d e q u a t e g u i d e l i n e s a n d s p e c i f i c a t i o n s f o r d e s i g n , d e v e l o p m e n t , q u a l i f i c a t i o n a n d a c c e p t a n c e . Recommendations are made on b o t h a m a n a g e r i a l a n d t e c h n i c a l b a s i s t o p r e v e n t c o n t i n u e d p y r o t e c h n i c s y s t e m f a i l u r e s , i n c r e a s e re l . l a h il i t y , improve e x i s t i n g and f u t u r e d e s i g n s , a n d d e v e l o p t h e t e c h n o l o g y t ~ ,meet f u t u r r ? r e q u i r e m e n t s . INTRODUCTION P y r o t e c h n i c s , a s a term u s e d h e r e i n , comprise b o t h e x p l o s i v e a n d p r o p e l l a n t - a c t u a t e d mechanisms, b u t e x c l u d e p r o p u l s i o n . P y r o t e c h n i c s h a v e a c c o m p l i s h e d a l a r g e number o f t h e m e c h a n i c a l f u n c t i o n s f o r s p a c e m i s s i o n s , i n c l u d i n g 24 f o r Apollo, a n d w h i l e e x t r e m e l y h i g h r e l i a b i l i t y h a s b e e n d e m o n s t r a t e d i n b o t h manned a n d unmanned a p p l i c a t i o n s , n a g g i n g s y s t e m f a i l u r e s c o n t i n u e t o o c c u r . T h e s e f a i l u r e s h a v e c a u s e d t h r e e d e a t h s a n d h a v e r e s u l t e d i n c o n s i d e r a b l e e x p e n s e i n r e d e s i g n , r e q u a l i f i c a t i o n , repeat o f s y s t e m tests, a n d f l i g h t d e l a y s , as w e l l as t h e less d e f i n a b l e l o s s e s i n morale a n d p r e s t i g e t h r o u g h e x p e r i e n c i n g f l i g h t f a i l u r e s . Norman R . S c h u l z e of t h e O f f i c e o f Associate A d m i n i s t r a t o r f o r S a f e t y , R e l i a b i l i t y , M a i n t a i n a b i l i t y a n d Q u a l i t y A s s u r a n c e , c o n c e r n e d a b o u t t h e s h o r t - a n d l o n g - t e r m management o f p y r o t e c h n i c f a i l u r e s , r e c o g n i z e d t h a t i n t e r - C e n t e r c o o r d i n a t i o n c o u l d be t h e m o s t e f f e c t i v e a p p r o a c h t o d e f i n i n g , u n d e r s t a n d i n g , a n d r e d u c i n g t h e s e f a i l u r e s . The p o t e n t i a l b e n e f i t s o f i n t e r - C e n t e r coord i n a t i o n were d e m o n s t r a t e d by t w o h i g h l y s u c c e s s f u l p r o g r a m s u n d e r h i s management: t h e "NASA A e r o s p a c e F l i g h t B a t t e r y S y s t e m s Program" a n d t h e " ~ h u t t l e / C e n t a u r S u p e r * Z i p S e p a r a t i o n J o i n t F a i l u r e A n a l y s i s a n d R e s o l u t i o n program". R e f e r e n c e 1 p r o v i d e s a summary o f t h e b a t t e r y e x p e r i e n c e , a n d r e f e r e n c e 2 p r o v i d e s a d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e S u p e r * Z i p t e c h n i c a l r e s o l u t i o n . Both o f t h e s e programs a d d r e s s e d e x i s t i n g complex p r o b l e m s a n d f a i l u r e s w i t h m u l t i p l e c a u s e s . A r e s o l u t i o n t o t h e S u p e r * Z i p f a i l u r e w a s a c h i e v e d i n real t i m e w i t h a c t i v e p a r t i c i p a t i o n by e v e r y NASA C e n t e r , as w e l l as t h e A i r F o r c e a n d Navy a n d f o u r i n d u s t r i a l u s e r s , t o i m m e d i a t e l y implement improvements i n e x i s t i n g f l i g h t s y s t e m s . The e f f i c i e n t i n t e r - C e n t e r c o o r d i n a t i o n r e s u l t e d i n t h e c r e a t i o n of t h e NASA/DOD A e r o s p a c e P y r o t e c h n i c S y s t e m s S t e e r i n g Committee, coml)osed o f l e a d i n g p y r o t e c h n i c t e c h n o l o g i s t s from t h e NASA C e n t e r s , t h e S p a c e D i v i s i o n , A i r F o r c e S y s t e m s Command, a n d t h e Naval S u r f a c e W a r f a r e C e n t e r ( t a b l e I ) . The need t o d e t e r m i n e t h e e x t e n t o f p r o b l e m s i n t h e p y r o t e c h n i c community became t h e o b v i o u s f i r s t a c t i v i t y o f t h e s t e e r i n g committee. Each o f t h e c o m m i t t e e m e m b e r s s u p p l i e d f a i l u r e i n f o r m a t i o n a n d l e s s o n s l e a r n e d t o be u s e d f o r t h e f o l l o w i n g s p e c i f i c o b j e c t i v e s o f t h i s p a p e r : 1. P r o v i d e a c o m p i l a t i o n o f p y r o t e c h n i c f a i l u r e s , i n c l u d i n g program i m p a c t , s o u r c e s o f f a i l u r e s , a n d r e s o l u t i o n s . 2. Analyze t h e past f a i l u r e s t o d e t e r m i n e when t h e y o c c u r r e d i n t h e u s e c y c l e a n d t h e b a s i c c a u s e s f o r o c c u r r e n c e s .

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3 . C o n s i d e r s p e c i f i c p y r o t e c h n i c t e c h n o l o g y d e f i c i e n c i e s t h a t a l l o w e d f a i l u r e s t o o c c u r . 4. Recommend t e c h n i c a l and m a n a g e r i a l a p p r o a c h e s t o : a . I n c r e a s e r e l i a b i l i t y t h r o u g h f a i l u r e p r e v e n t i o n b. P r o v i d e t h e t h e o r e t i c a l and p r a c t i c a l b a s i s f o r t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g of p y r o t e c h n i c f u n c t i o n a l mechanisms. c. Improve e x i s t i n g d e s i g n s and p r o v i d e improved d e s i g n a p p r o a c h e s and s p e c i f i c a t i o n s as t h e t e c h n o l o g y b a s e expands. d. Develop t h e t e c h n o l o g y t o meet f u t u r e r e q u i r e m e n t s . PROCEDURES FOR FAILURE SURVEY AND ANALYSIS T h i s s e c t i o n d e s c r i b e s t h e approach u s e d i n c o n d u c t i n g t h e p y r o t e c h n i c f a i l u r e s u r v e y and t h e s u b s e q u e n t a n a l y s i s t o p r o v i d e d i r e c t i o n f o r t h e f i n a l recommendations. Survey Approach The i n t e n t of t h i s f a i l u r e s u r v e y was t o d e v e l o p a n i n s i g h t i n t o t h e e x t e n t of t h e problems i n t h e p y r o t e c h n i c d i s c i p l i n e , n o t t o g a i n t e c h n i c a l d e s i y n i n f o r m a t i o n on t h e f a i l u r e s . F u r t h e r m o r e , t o e x p e d i t e t h e e f f o r t and r e d u c e t h e time commitment by t h e committee s o u r c e s ( t a b l e I ) t h e emphasis w a s p l a c e d on s i m p l i c i t y . B r i e f s t a t e m e n t s w e r e r e q u e s t e d on f a i l u r e s of hardware t h a t w a s a f t e r d e s i g n and w a s i n q u a l i f i c a t i o n , s y s t e m t e s t i n g , l o t a c c e p t a n c e t e s t i n g , i n t h e v a r i o u s p h a s e s of p r e f l i g h t p r e p a r a t i o n s , f l i g h t , o r i n longt e r m s t o r a g e , s e r v i c e l i f e e v a l u a t i o n . Requested were t h e y e a r of t h e f a i l u r e , a b r i e f d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e f a i l u r e , t h e p r o j e c t i m p a c t , i n c l u d i n g t h e a c t u a l and p o t e n t i a l i f t h e f a i l u r e mode had remained u n d e t e c t e d , t h e s o u r c e o f t h e f a i l u r e , and t h e f a i l u r e r e s o l u t i o n . O b v i o u s l y , t h e p r o j e c t i m p a c t f o r eclcli f a i l u r e was a n a p p r e c i a b l e s c h e d u l e d e l a y and c o s t , s o o n l y s t a t e m e n t s of a d d i t i o n a l impacts beyond t h e s e were s o l i c i t e d . The f a i l u r e s o u r c e c a t e g o r i e s a n d t h e i r d e f i n i t i o n s a r e l i s t e d i n t a b l e 11, i n c l u d i n g s p e c i f i c a t i o n s , p r o c e - d u r e s , q u a l i t y c o n t r o l , d e s i g n , t e c h n i c a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g and m i s a p p l i c a t i o n s . No recluests were made f o r r e f e r e n c e s o r documentation on any of t h e f a i l u r e s . A n a l y s i s Approach The f a i l u r e s were grouped i n t o s e v e r a l c a t e g o r i e s f o r a n a l y s i s , t h e n a s u b j e c t i v e a s s e s s m e n t was made t o a t t e m p t t o e x p l a i n how and why t h e s e

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f a i l u r e s o c c u r r e d . The f a i l u r e s were f i r s t c a t e g o r i z e d i n t o p y r o t e c h n i c f u n c t i o n s , a n d t h e n were summed i n terms o f t o t a l s f o r ( a ) e a c h f u n c t i o n a l c a t e g o r y , ( b ) when t h e y o c c u r r e d i n t h e l i f e c y c l e o f t h e d e v i c e , a n d (c) t h e s o u r c e o r c a u s e o f e a c h f a i l u r e . The f u n c t i o n a l c a t e g o r i e s were: i n i t i a t i o n , d e f i n e d a s t h e f i r s t i n p u t i n t o t h e d e v i c e t o s t a r t t h e f u n c t i o n a l t r a i n ; mechanisms, m e c h a n i c a l d e v i c e s u s e d t o a c c o m p l i s h a d e s i r e d f u n c t i o n ; s e p a r a t i o n j o i n t s and l i n e a r e x p l o s i v e s which are a t y p e o f d e v i c e t h a t c a n be a p p l i e d i n r e l a t i v e l y l o n g l e n g t h s t o s e v e r a n d release s t r u c t u r e , s u c h a s r o c k e t s t a g i n g ; a n d f i r i n g c i r c u i t s , t h o s e electrical s y s t e m s u s e d t o p r o v i d e i n p u t e n e r g y t o i n i t i a t e p y r o t e c h n i c d e v i c e s . The "when t h e f a i l u r e s o c c u r r e d " c a t e g o r i e s f o r d e v i c e s w i t h c o m p l e t e d d e s i g n were q u a l i f i c a t i o n , m a n u f a c t u r e o f t h e f u l l y q u a l i f i e d d e v i c e , l o t a c c e p t a n c e t e s t i n g , s y s t e m s t e s t i n g , f l i g h t a s s e m b l y , f l i g h t a n d s e r v i c e l i f e e v a l u a t i o n , or long-term s t o r a g e . The " s o u r c e o r c a u s e o f f a i l u r e s ' ' categ o r i e s are l i s t e d i n t a b l e 11: S p e c i f i c a t i o n s , p r o c e d u r e s , q u a l i t y c o n t r o l , d e s i g n , t e c h n i c a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d m i s a p p l i c a t i o n s . F o r t h o s e f a i l u r e s w i t h more t h a n o n e f a i l u r e c a t e g o r y , o n l y t h e p r i m a r y c a u s e w a s s t a t e d . A s u b j e c t i v e a s s e s s m e n t w a s t h e n made on t h e " s t a t e - o f - t h e - a r t " o f p y r o t e c h n i c t e c h n o l o g y t h a t would e x p l a i n why t h e s e f a i l u r e s o c c u r r e d . C o n s i d e r e d w e r e : ( a ) r e c o g n i t i o n by t h e e n g i n e e r i n g community o f p y r o t e c h n i c s a s a t e c h n i c a l e n t i t y , ( b ) g u i d e l i n e s f o r d e s i g n , d e v e l o p m e n t q u a l i f i c a t i o n , a n d t e s t i n g , ( c ) c o m m u n i c a t i o n , ( d l s o u r c e s o f i n f o r m a t i o n , ( e l r e l i a n c e o n m a n u f a c t u r e r s , ( € 1 test f a c i l i t i e s , ( g ) manpower, ( h ) t r a i n i n g , (i)s t a n d a r d s For r e q u i r e m e n t s a n d h a r d w a r e , ( j ) f u t u r e r e q u i r e m e n t s a n d ( k ) f u n d i n g . RESULTS T h i s s e c t i o n summarizes t h e r e s u l t s o f t h e f a i l u r e s u r v e y a n d t h e d n a l y s i s o f t h e c o m p i l e d i n f o r m a t i o n . S u r v e y C o m p i l a t i o n The l i s t i n g o f f a i l u r e s is p r e s e n t e d i n t a b l e s I11 t h r o u g h VI u n d e r t h e c a t e g o r i e s o f i n i t i a t i o n , mechanisms, s p a c e c r a f t s e p a r a t i o n j o i n t s a n d l i n e a r e x p l o s i v e s and f i r i n g c i r c u i t s . To b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n f o r m a t , a more d e t a i l e d d e s c r i p t i o n on r e p r e s e n t a t i v e e x a m p l e s f o r e a c h c a t e g o r y is y i v e n . I n i t i a t i o n . - The most i n f a m o u s p y r o t e c h n i c f a i l u r e w a s t h e 1964 D e l t a p r o g r a m r o c k e t motor i g n i t i o n a t Cape Kennedy t h a t k i l l e d t h r e e p e o p l e a n d i n j u r e d e i g h t . The f i l a m e n t - w o u n d , f i b e r g l a s s motor w i t h a s s e m b l e d s p a c e c r a f t

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w a s mounted i n a v e r t i c a l s t a n d a n d c o v e r e d w i t h a p r o t e c t i v e plastic s h e e t . I n r o l l i n g u p t h e e d g e s o f t h e s h e e t t o t h e t o p o f t h e a s s e m b l y t o a l l o w ac:cess t o t h e s l ~ a c e c r a f t , t h o u s a n d s o f v o l t s o f e l e c t r o s t a t i c e n e r g y were cjellerated. T h e s c v o l t a g e s c a u s e d a n e l e c t r i c a l breakdown t h r o u g h t h e i n i - t i a t i o n mix between t h e case and f i r i n g l e a d s o f a n i n t e r n a l l y mounted s q u i b ( e l c ? c : t r i c a l i n i t i a t o r ) . The a p p r o a c h f o r e l e c t r o s t a t i c p r o t e c t i o n a t t h a t t i m e w a s c o m p l e t e l y wrong. The r e s o l u t i o n w a s t o r e d e s i g n t h e s q u i b a n d i g n i t e r t o r e d u c e e l e c t r o s t a t i c e n e r g y s e n s i t i v i t y , as w e l l as e l i m i n a t e t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f a c h i e v i n g e l e c t r o s t a t i c a l l y g e n e r a t e d v o l t a g e s a t s e n s i t i v e l o c a t i o n s . The 1986 f a i l u r e of t h e NASA S t a n d a r d I n i t i a t o r ( N S I ) t o f u n c t i o n i n a -260° F l o t a c c e p t a n c e t e s t p r e s e n t s a m a j o r impact on a wide v a r i e t y o f s p a c e - c r a f t f u n c t i o n s . S h o u l d t h e f a i l u r e n o t be r e s o l v e d , t h e u s e o f t h e NSI may f i r i n g c i r c u i t s o r f o r u s e a t w a r m e r t e m p e r a t u r e s . b e r e s t r i c t e d t o s p e c i a l F o r example, a dichotomy between o p e r a t i o n a l e n v i r o n m e n t a n d p e r f o r m a n c e l i m i - t a t i o n is t h e S h u t t l e ' s hydrogen u m b i l i c a l d i s c o n n e c t which must f u n c t i o n a t - 4 2 0 ° F. The c a u s e o r s o u r c e o f f a i l u r e is a l a c k o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e m a t e r i a l s a n d / o r m a n u f a c t u r i n g c o n t r o l s n e c e s s a r y t o a c h i e v e r e l i a b l e i n i - t i a t i o n ; t e s t f i r i n g s i n s a m p l e s o f some few l o t s h a v e a l l f u n c t i o n e d , w h i l e t h e m a j o r i t y of lots h a v e h a d f u n c t i o n a l f a i l u r e s . No f a i l u r e s c a n be t o l e r a t e d . Mechanisms.- The 1987 f a i l u r e o f two M a g e l l a n p i n p u l l e r s h a s f a r greater p o t e n t i a l i m p a c t t h a n is i n i t i a l l y a p p a r e n t . T h i s p i n p u l l e r w a s t h e same u n i t f u l l y q u a l i f i e d f o r t h e V i k i n g Lander s p a c e c r a f t f o r t h e 1976 l a n d i n g on t h e s u r f a c e o f Mars. A f t e r t h i s e x p e r i e n c e a n d w i t h its p e d i g r e e , t w o u n i t s from a d u p l i c a t e l o t o f p i n p u l l e r s f a i l e d t o f u n c t i o n i n a f a i l u r e mode n o t r e c o g n i z e d i n t h e o r i g i n a l d e s i g n , d e v e l o p m e n t and q u a l i f i c a t i o n . F i r s t , t h e e x t r e m e l y dynamic p r e s s u r e i m p u l s e o u t p u t , as d e s i g n e d , o f t h e NSI, when f i r e d i n t o a small e c c e n t r i c a l l y v e n t e d c a v i t y w a s s e v e r e l y a t t e n u a t e d , r e d u c i n g t h e e n e r g y a v a i l a b l e t o s t r o k e t h e p i s t o n . F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e b o t t o m o f t h e c a v i t y was d e f o r m e d by t h e p r e s s u r e i n t o a g r o o v e i n t h e p i s t o n , which h a d t o s t r o k e t o p u l l t h e p i n . T h i s d e v i c e may h a v e a l w a y s b e e n m a r g i n a l when o p e r a t e d by a s i n g l e c a r t r i d g e i n p u t . S p a c e c r a f t s e p a r a t i o n j o i n t s a n d l i n e a r e x p l o s i v e s . - The 1983 a n d 1984 c o l d - t e m p e r a t u r e f a i l u r e s o f t h e S h u t t l e / C e n t a u r s e p a r a t i o n j o i n t w e r e c a u s e d b y a l a c k of u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f how t h e mechanism works. It w a s d e t e r m i n e d t h a t t . 1 ~pl.atc?s t h a t were t o be e x p l o s i v e l y f r a c t u r e d were t o o t h i c k a n d t o o s o f t ( r e f e r e n c e 2 ) . The c r i t i c a l t h i c k n e s s w a s n o t a t t h e p o i n t o f f r a c t u r e , b u t a t t h e p o i n t s where b e n d i n g o c c u r r e d t o i n t r o d u c e t h e dynamic stress a t t h e p o i n t of f r a c t u r e . To a v o i d stress c o r r o s i o n s e n s i t i v i t y t h e p l a t e m a t e r i a l h a r d n e s s w a s c h a n g e d from earlier s y s t e m s t h r o u g h a n n e a l i n g f r o m a f r a c t u r e - s e n s i t i v e c o n d i t i o n t o a f r a c t u r e - r e s i s t a n t c o n d i t i o n . A l t h o u g h t h e j o i n t was s u c : c e s s f u l l y s e v e r e d i n e a r l y d e m o n s t r a t i o n tests d e s p i t e t h i s s o f t c o n d i t i o n , a s i g n i f i c a n t p o r t i o n o f t h e f u n c t i o n a l m a r g i n h a d b e e n l o s t w i t h o u t t h e knowledge of s y s t e m d e s i g n e r s . F i r i n g c i r c u i t s . - The 1987 l a u n c h p a d l i g h t n i n g s t r i k e i g n i t i o n o f t h r e e o f f o u r s o u n d i n g r o c k e t s w a s c a u s e d by e l e c t r o m a g n e t i c a l l y i n d u c e d e n e r g y i n p a r t i a l l y s h i e l d e d a n d g r o u n d e d f i r i n g l e a d s . F a c i l i t y h a r d w a r e a n d p r o c e d u r e s

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had been u s e d s u c c e s s f u l l y f o r o v e r 30 y e a r s of l a u n c h o p e r a t i o n s . An u n u s u a l s t o r m w i t h sudden l i g h t n i n g i d e n t i f i e d t h e s y s t e m w e a k n e s s e s . DATA ANALYSIS T h i s s e c t i o n d e s c r i b e s t h e r e s u l t s of t h e f a i l u r e s u r v e y i n q u a n t i t a t i v e terms a n d p r o v i d e s a s u b j e c t i v e a s s e s s m e n t to h e l p e x p l a i n why t h e f a i l u r e s o c c u r r e d . p u a n t i t a t i v e summary.- The t o t a l number o f f a i l u r e s r e p o r t e d i n t h i s s u r - v e y w a s 84. The f r e q u e n c y o f o c c u r r e n c e f o r t h e 23-year p e r i o d is shown i n f i y u r e 1. The g r e a t e s t number o f f a i l u r e s o c c u r r e d i n 1984 w i t h a n a v e r a g e o f 3.65 f o r t h e e n t i r e p e r i o d . The f l i g h t f a i l u r e s are s c a t t e r e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e f u n c t i o n a l c a t e g o r y is shown i n f i g u r e p e r i o d . The number o f f a i l u r e s i n e a c h 2. The number of f a i l u r e s i n a d e v i c e l i f e c y c l e is shown i n f i g u r e 3. Of c o u r s e , t h e key s t a t i s t i c is t h a t 12 f l i g h t f a i l u r e s o c c u r r e d f o l l o w i n g q u a l i - f i c a t i o n , l o t a c c e p t a n c e t e s t i n g , s y s t e m s t e s t a n d f l i g h t a s s e m b l y . F i g u r e 4 s u m m a r i z e s t h e p y r o t e c h n i c f a i l u r e o c c u r r e n c e s i n terms of s o u r c e s or causes. A s s e s s m e n t on r e a s o n s f o r f a i l u r e s . - T h i s s e c t i o n is a c o m p i l a t i o n o f l l s t a t e - o f - t h e - a r t l ' o p i n i o n s by t h e NASA/DOD Q r o t e c h n i c S t e e r i n g Committee as t o how and why t h e s e f a i l u r e s o c c u r r e d . T h e s e o p i n i o n s are s u b d i v i d e d a n d p r e s e n t e d i n t h e f o l l o w i n g c a t e g o r i e s : p y r o t e c h n i c t e c h n o l o g y r e c o g n i t i o n , g u i d e l i n e s f o r d e s i g n , d e v e l o p m e n t and q u a l i f i c a t i o n , c o m m u n i c a t i o n , s o u r c e s o f i n f o r m a t i o n , r e l i a n c e on m a n u f a c t u r e r s , t e s t f a c i l i t i e s , manpower, t r a i n i n g , s t a n d a r d s f o r r e q u i r e m e n t s a n d h a r d w a r e , f u t u r e r e q u i r e m e n t s a n d f undincj. P y r o t e c h n i c t e c h n o l o g y r e c o g n i t i o n . - P y r o t e c h n i c s h a v e n o t b e e n r e c o g n i z e d as a s e p a r a t e a n d d i s t i n c t t e c h n o l o g y , b u t h a v e been r e l e g a t e d t o a s u b s y s t e ~ nl e v e l o f p r o p u l s i o n o r s t r u c t u r e s . Even w o r s e , p y r o t e c h n i c d e v i c e s ~3r-c: c o n s i d e r e d a n a l o g o u s t o " n u t s a n d b o l t s " , i n t h a t no f u n d a m e n t a l e n g i - n e c r i n g d e s i g n is n e c e s s a r y ; t h e y n e e d o n l y be p u r c h a s e d and a p p l i e d . P a s t e d i c t s h a v e shown t h e g e n e r a l o p i n i o n a n d t h e c o n c e r n f o r p y r o t e c h n i c u s e , o n e o f t h e mre r e c e n t b e i n g , " P y r o t e c h n i c a p p l i c a t i o n s are p r o h i b i t e d f o r b o t h t h e S h u t t l e v e h i c l e and S h u t t l e p a y l o a d s . " O t h e r m e s s a g e s r a n g e f r o m ''Don't c o n s i d e r them, u n l e s s you h a v e t o , " t o " s q u i b s are p r e t t y r e l i a b l e . " Program managers g e n e r a l l y h a v e l i t t l e b a c k g r o u n d e x p e r i e n c e w i t h p y r o t e c h n i c s y s t e m s , o r \lave h e a r d h o r r o r s t o r i e s of u n e x p l a i n e d f a i l u r e s , a n d r e a l i z i n g t h e s c a r c i t y of e x p e r i e n c e d p e r s o n n e l , h a v e a v o i d e d t h e i r u s e . I n s p i t e o f t h e s e t h e i r place i n d e s i g n a p p l i c a t i o n s f o r n e g a t i v e o p i n i o n s , p y r o t e c h n i c s do h a v e s i n g u l a r , n o n - r e p e t i t i v e f u n c t i o n s t h a t demand enormous amounts o f d i r e c t e d e n e r g y i n s h o r t p e r i o d s o f t i m e . G u i d e l i n e s f o r d e s i g n , d e v e l o p m e n t a n d q u a l i f i c a t i o n . - No s t a n d a r d i z e d y u i c i e l i n e s e x i s t w i t h i n NASA f o r p y r o t e c h n i c s y s t e m d e s i g n , d e v e l o p m e n t a n d q u a l i f i c a t i o n , a s d o e s t h e A i r F o r c e ( r e f e r e n c e 3 ) . Development b o r d e r s on

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macjic arid s u p e r s t i t i o n . S u b s e q u e n t f a i l u r e s l e a v e t h e i m p r e s s i o n t h a t p y r o t e c h n i c s are d a n g e r o u s , damaging, a n d a t b e s t , d i f f i c u l t t o c o n t r o l . Some p a s t p y r o t e c h n i c s u b s y s t e m managers h a v e a c t u a l l y conveyed t o t h e i r p r o g r a m managers t h a t no o n e c a n r e a l l y u n d e r s t a n d how t h e s e d e v i c e s work; t h e y d o n ' t f o l l o w a n y known e n g i n e e r i n g l a w s . S i n c e p y r o t e c h n i c s are s i n g l e - s h o t d e v i - ces, p a s t a p p r o a c h e s f o r d e m o n s t r a t i n g r e l i a b i l i t y h a v e r e l i e d h e a v i l y on d e v e l o p i n g a s t a t i s t i c a l v e r i f i c a t i o n w i t h o u t a clear u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f f u n c - t i o n a l mechanisms a n d t h e r e l a t i v e i m p o r t a n c e o f s y s t e m parameters. T h a t is, o n c e a s u c c e s s f u l p e r f o r m a n c e w a s a c h i e v e d , e m p h a s i s w a s p l a c e d o n c o n s e c u t i v e s u c c e s s e s . (More t h a n 2000 u n i t s a c c o m p l i s h i n g l a r g e numbers o f a r c n e e d e d t o e s t a b l i s h a 99.99 p e r c e n t r e l i a b i l i t y a t a 95 p e r c e n t c o n f i d e n c e a p p r o a c h o f t e n is t o r u n f u l l - s c a l e s y s t e m s l e v e l . ) However, t h e c u r r e n t tests on as few a s s i x a s s e m b l i e s o r less w i t h no s t a t i s t i c a l g u a r a n t e e of r e l i a b i l i t y , a n d w i t h o u t a n a d e q u a t e u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f how t h e mechanisms f u n c - t i o n , a p r e s c r i p t i o n f o r d i s a s t e r . Communication.- Most C e n t e r s work t h e i r p y r o t e c h n i c e f f o r t s i n d e p e n d e n t l y w i t h l i t t l e i n t e r c o m m u n i c a t i o n , c o o p e r a t i o n o r s h a r i n g o f t e c h n i c a l g a i n s , T h e r e h a s b e e n l i t t l e m u t u a l p a r t i c i - p r o b l e m s , f a i l u r e s and r e s o l u t i o n s . p a t i o n among C e n t e r s i n d e s i g n r e v i e w s . S o u r c e s o f i n f o r m a t i o n . - No l i b r a r y o r c e n t r a l s o u r c e o f i n f o r m a t i o n e x i s t s t h a t is r e m o t e l y o r i e n t e d t o w a r d s c u r r e n t a e r o s p a c e p y r o t e c h n i c t e c h n o l o g y , p a r t i c u l a r l y a d a t a b a n k on p a s t f a i l u r e s . The f a i l u r e s u r v e y i n t h i s p a p e r was c o m p i l e d p r i m a r i l y i n f o r m a l l y , o n t h e b a s i s o f memory o f t h e S t e e r i n g Committee members. Few p u b l i c a t i o n s e x i s t i n t h i s h i g h l y s p e c i a l i z e d a r e a . Pew p r o g r a m s t h o r o u g h l y document a n d p u b l i s h d e s i g n s , f u n c t i o n a l performance a n d p h y s i c a l e n v e l o p e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n a f o r m a t p e r m i t t i n g t r a d e b e s t p y r o t e c h n i c t e c h n o l o g y is i n t h e s t u d i e s needed f o r new d e s i g n s . The minds of a h a n d f u l of s p e c i a l i s t s w i t h s u f f i c i e n t g e n e r a l e x p e r i e n c e t o assess new a p p l i c a t i o n s . R e l i a n c e on m a n u f a c t u r e r s . - Many Government o r p r i m e - c o n t r a c t o r p y r o - t e c h n i c managers do n o t h a v e t e c h n i c a l b a c k g r o u n d s t o work on an e q u a l b a s i s w i t h p y r o t e c h n i c m a n u f a c t u r e r s . T h i s s i t u a t i o n h a s l e d t o t h e m a n u f a c t u r e r s e d u c a t i n g t h e c u s t o m e r on t h e a t t r i b u t e s o f p y r o t e c h n i c a p p l i c a t i o n s , f o l l o w e d by the m a n u f a c t u r e r b e i n g t h r u s t i n t o making a p r o p o s a l w i t h o u t a r e a s o n a b l e u n c l c r s t a n d i n g of s y s t e m r e q u i r e m e n t s . T h i s a p p r o a c h r e s u l t s i n a c u s t o m e r who is now l a r g e l y d e p e n d e n t on t h e m a n u f a c t u r e r f o r d e v e l o p m e n t o f k e y p y r o t e c h - d e f i n i t i o n on s y s t e m i n t e r f a c i n g . A l s o , t h e n i c components w i t h o u t a c l e a r m a n u f a c t u r e r s h o u l d n o t be r e l i e d upon t o i n v e s t i g a t e a n d r e s o l v e h a r d w a r e f a i l u r e s w i t h c o m p l e t e o b j e c t i v i t y b e c a u s e of h i s v e s t e d i n t e r e s t . F i n a l l y , i t is n o t r s a s o n a h l e t o e x p e c t m a n u f a c t u r e r s t o a c c o m p l i s h r e s e a r c h a n d developmcnt t o meet f u t u r e r e q u i r e m e n t s w i t h o u t c o n s i d e r a b l e p a r t i c i p a t i o n by t h e Government o r 11rime c o n t r a c t o r . T e s t f a c i l i t i e s . - The NASA a n d A i r F o r c e h a v e v e r y few test f a c i l i t i e s ------t h a t are d e s i g n e d f o r c o n d u c t i n g p y r o t e c h n i c r e s e a r c h , d e v e l o p m e n t a n d t h a t e x i s t , v i r t u a l l y a l l h a v e t o be d e m o n s t r a t i o n . Of t h e few f a c i l i t i e s r e a c t i v a t e d and s t a f f e d on demand. T h i s s i t u a t i o n n o t o n l y d e c r e a s e s t h e d e p t h o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f p e r s o n n e l a t t e m p t i n g t o s t a y a b r e a s t a n d a d v a n c e t h e s t a t e - o f - t h e - a r t , b u t a g a i n f o r c e s r e l i a n c e on t h e m a n u f a c t u r e r s .

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Manpower.- P y r o t e c h n i c p e r s o n n e l are g e n e r a l l y t r a n s i e n t , a s s i g n e d or h i r e d f o r a t e m p o r a r y e f f o r t on a s p e c i f i c program, a n d n o t e n c o u r a g e d t o s t a y i n t h e p r o f e s s i o n . A c t u a l l y , many p y r o t e c h n i c s t a f f s , i n c l u d i n g t h o s e i n t h e NASA, are d e c r e a s i n g i n t h e f a c e o f e v e r more demanding p y r o t e c h n i c a p p l i c a - tionr;. For example, McDonnell A i r c r a f t Company, S t . I o u i s , M i s s o u r i , a l e a d e r i n p y r o t e c h n i c a p p l i c a t i o n s , s u c h as crew e s c a p e s y s t e m s i n t h e Mercury, Gemini and t h e F-111 a i r c r a f t , i n t h e past 3 y e a r s h a s e x p e r i e n c e d a r e d u c t i o n o f s e n i o r s t a f f from s e v e n t o t h r e e . NASA-JSC is t h e o n l y C e n t e r t h a t h a s r e c o g n i z e d and r e v e r s e d t h i s t r e n d . T r a i n i n g . - N o f o r m a l t r a i n i n g e x i s t s t h a t meets t h e n e e d s f o r t o d a y ' s s o p h i s t i c a t e d p y r o t e c h n i c a p p l i c a t i o n s . T h e r e is no e n g i n e e r i n g c u r r i c u l u m d e v o t e d t o p y r o t e c h n i c s a t any c o l l e g e o r u n i v e r s i t y . Very few s a f e t y c o u r s e s a r e a v a i l a b l e to a s s u r e p e r s o n n e l s a f e t y i n h a n d l i n g a n d u s i n g p y r o t e c h n i c s , a n d t o p r o v i d e p r o t e c t i o n f o r s y s t e m s i n which p y r o t e c h n i c s are a p p l i e d . P e r s o n n e l a c t i v e i n t h i s f i e l d u s u a l l y h a v e r e c e i v e d t h e i r e d u c a t i o n f r o m t h e small h a n d f u l o f m e n t o r s d e s c r i b e d i n t h e s e c t i o n on s o u r c e s o f i n f o r m a t i o n . T h e r e are few p y r o t e c h n i c p e r s o n n e l w i t h t h e "hands-on" e x p e r i e n c e n e c e s s a r y t o c o n s t r u c t a n d a p p l y t h e optimum a p p r o a c h e s f o r d e s i g n , d e v e l o p m e n t , qualif i c a t i o n and l o t a c c e p t a n c e t e s t i n g . The g r e a t e s t l a c k o f e x p e r i e n c e is i n t e s t i n g t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e mechanisms a n d r e l a t i v e i m p o r t a n c e o f p y r o t e c h n i c s y s t e m v a r i a b l e s o f p y r o t e c h n i c d e v i c e s t o p r o v e f u n c t i o n a l m a r g i n s . S t a n d a r d s f o r r e q u i r e m e n t s a n d hardware.- Most C e n t e r s d e v e l o p t h e i r own s p e c i f i c a t i o n s and h a r d w a r e d e s i g n p h i l o s o p h i e s , which c a n v a r y c o n s i d e r a b l y . A l s o , m a n a g e r s i n r u s h i n g t o u s e " o f f - t h e - s h e l f " h a r d w a r e t o r e d u c e costs, o f t e n d i s c o v e r a rnismatch i n form, f i t o r f u n c t i o n , a n d t h e n are f o r c e d i n t o a r e d e o i g n and "make-it-work" mode. Many p o t e n t i a l u s e r s , s u c h as u n i v e r s i t y - n p o n s o r e d e x p e r i m e n t e r s , c a n n o t a f f o r d t o d e v e l o p a n d q u a l i f y p y r o t e c h n i c s f o r t h e i r p a r t i c u l a r s y s t e m r e q u i r e m e n t s . No l o w - c o s t , h i g h - r e l i a b i l i t y c o m - p o n e n t s , o t h e r t h a n t h e G o v e r n m e n t - f u r n i s h e d NASA S t a n d a r d I n i t i a t o r , are a v a i l a b l e . Hence, new p r o d u c t s are c o n t i n u o u s l y o f f e r e d and t h e c o n s e q u e n c e i s new p r o b l e m s o r t h e r e i n v e n t i o n o f t h e o l d o n e s . T h e r e is no a p p a r e n t m o t i v a t i o n o r g e n e r a l s u p p o r t f o r m a n u f a c t u r e r s t o d e v e l o p a d d i t i o n a l s t a n d a r - d j z e d components. However, d i f f i c u l t i e s h a v e b e e n e n c o u n t e r e d i n t h e applicat i o n of t h e N A S A S t a n d a r d I n i t i a t o r . A s d e s i g n e d , t h e o u t p u t o f t h e NASA S t a n d a r d I n i t i a t o r p r o d u c e s a dynamic (high-pressure/short-duration) o u t p u t , which is s u i t a b l e f o r i t s i n t e n d e d i g n i t i o n f u n c t i o n . However, p r o b l e m s h a v e o c c u r r e d i n a t t e m p t i n g t o u s e its o u t p u t t o a c c o m p l i s h m e c h a n i c a l f u n c t i o n s as a p r e s s u r e g e n e r a t o r . F u t u r e - r - u i r e m n e n t s . - No s h a r e d a p p r o a c h h a s b e e n e s t a b l i s h e d on r e c o c j n i z i n g p y r o t e c h n i c r e q u i r e m e n t s o r t e c h n o l o g y d e v e l o p m e n t n e e d e d f o r futurc: ~ n i s s i o n s . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , t e c h n o l o g i s t s are t r y i n g t o r e s p o n d as t h e n e e d s o c c u r , w i t h o u t b e i n g a b l e t o d e v e l o p a t e c h n o l o g y b a s e o r h a v e t h e o p p o r t u n i t y o f p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n e s t a b l i s h i n g a d v a n c e d s y s t e m d e f i n i t i o n s . T h i s o f t e n leads t o b e i n g " d e s i g n e d i n t o a c o r n e r ; " t h a t is, f o r c e d t o a c c o m p l i s h a f u n c t i o n w i t h p r e - e s t a b l i s h e d l i m i t a t i o n s on i n p u t e n e r g y , w e i g h t , volume a n d o u t p u t p e r f o r m a n c e . F u r t h e r m o r e , s i n c e p y r o t e c h n i c s y s t e m s a r e g e n e r a l l y s o u n i q u e ( d e s i g n e d f o r s p e c i f i c a p p l i c a t i o n s ) a n d c o s t l y , manuf a c t u r e r s c a n n o t be e x p e c t e d t o i n t e r n a l l y f u n d r e s e a r c h a n d d e v e l o p m e n t t o m e e t f u t u r e r e q u i r e m e n t s .

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-k ' u n d i . . --- T h e r e is no g e n e r a l r e s e a r c h a n d d e v e l o p m e n t a d v o c a t e n o r f u n d s o u r c e from e i t h e r t h e NASA o r t h e A i r F o r c e S p a c e D i v i s i o n I i e a d q u a r t e r s d e d i - cdt.e(i to s o l v i n c j p y r o t e c h n i c p r o b l e m s a n d t o m e e t i n g r e c ~ u i r e r n e n t sf o r a d v a n c e d a e r o s p a c e p y r o t e c h n i c s y s t e m s . A l l p y r o t e c h n i c f u n d i n g is now e a r m a r k e d by p r o j e c t s , whost: l i m i t e d s c h e d u l e s a n d f u n d s o f t e n p r e c l u d e o r r e s t r i c t new d c v e l o p m c n t . T h e s e r e s t r i c t i o n s f o r c e p y r o t e c h n i c managers t o a t t e m p t t o u s e which o f t e n w i l l n o t meet t h e c u r r e n t s u p p o s e d l y " o f f - t h e - s h e l f " h a r d w a r e , s y s t e m r e q u i r e m e n t s . T h i s r e s u l t s i n p r o t r a c t e d , c o s t l y a n d i n e f f i c i e n t d e s i g n and d e v e l o p m e n t e f f o r t s . CONCLUSIONS I n a n e f f o r t t o d e t e r m i n e t h e c a u s e s o f a n d p r e v e n t i n g c o n t i n u i n g p y r o t e c h n i c s , which are e x p l o s i v e a n d f a i l u r e s i n s p a c e c r a f t s y s t e m s u s i n g e x c l u d i n g p r o p u l s i o n , a s u r v e y a n d a n a l y s i s p r o p e l l a n t - a c t u a t e d mechanisms, h a s been c o n d u c t e d on h a r d w a r e f a i l u r e s t h a t o c c u r r e d i n t h e f i n a l p h a s e s o f s y s t e m a p p l i c a t i o n s . T h a t is, a f t e r d e s i g n a n d i n o r f o l l o w i n g s y s t e m q u a l i - f i c a t i o n . The a n a l y s i s i n c l u d e d when and t h e c a u s e s f o r o c c u r r e n c e , t h e f a i l u r e s a n d recommend improvements. " s t a t e - o f - t h e - a r t " t h a t a l l o w e d The t o t a l number of f a i l u r e s , i n c l u d i n g t h r e e d e a t h s , r e p o r t e d i n t h i s s u r v e y was 8 4 f o r t h e 23-year p e r i o d o f t h e c o m p i l a t i o n w i t h a n a v e r a g e o f 3.65 p e r y e a r . The s u r v e y was a n i n f o r m a l c o m p i l a t i o n , b a s e d on memory a n d l i m i t e d d o c u m e n t a t i o n . No C e n t e r m a i n t a i n s a c o m p l e t e f o r m a l record o f f a i l u r e s . T h e r e f o r e , no t e c h n i c a l p r o b l e m d a t a b a s e h a s been e s t a b l i s h e d by t l i i s stucly. The f a i l u r e r a t e s p e r f u n c t i o n a l c a t e g o r y w e r e 32 i n mechanisms, 30 i n i n i t i a t i o n , 14 i n s e p a r a t i o n s y s t e m s a n d 8 i n e l e c t r i c a l f i r i n g circ u i t s . A t o t a l of 12, o r o v e r 14 p e r c e n t , o f t h e f a i l u r e s o c c u r r e d i n f l i g h t w i t h 15 i n q u a l i f i c a t i o n , 1 i n m a n u f a c t u r e f o l l o w i n g q u a l i f i c a t i o n , 33 i n l o t a c c e p t a n c e t e s t i n g (LAT), 14 i n s y s t e m s tests, 5 i n f i n a l a s s e m b l y a n d 4 i n s e r v i c e l i f e e v a l u a t i o n tests. C l e a r l y , some l o t a c c e p t a n c e t e s t i n g is adef u n c t i o n a l p e r f o r m a n c e . However, some l o t q u a t e i n d i s c o v e r i n g f l a w s i n s i n c e more f a i l u r e s o c c u r r e d a f t e r t h i s a c c e p t a n c e t e s t i n g n e e d s improvement, t c ? s t i n q t h a n b e f o r e . For t h e s o u r c e o f f a i l u r e s , t h e s h o c k i n g s t a t i s t i c is t h a t 35 o f 8 4 ( 4 2 c a u s e d by a l a c k of u n d e r s t a n d i n g ; t h a t is, t h e p e r c e n t ) o f t h e f a i l u r e s w e r e p e r s o n n e l w o r k i n g t h e p r o b l e m a t t h e t i m e d i d n o t h a v e t h e t e c h n o l o g y n e e d e d t o u n d e r s t a n d and c o r r e c t t h e f a i l u r e . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , 2 4 w e r e m i s t a k e s , c a u s e d by p o o r d e s i g n s a n d m i s a p p l i c a t i o n o f h a r d w a r e , which means t h a t pers o n n e l d i d n o t a p p l y t h e known t e c h n o l o g y . The n e x t 22 f a i l u r e s h a v e t o be c a t e g o r i z e d a s c a r e l e s s n e s s , t h r o u g h m a n u f a c t u r e r s ' p o o r p r o c e d u r e s a n d m a n a g e r s were a t f a u l t i n t h r e e cases i n n o t h a v i n g q u a l i t y c o n t r o l . Program e s t a b l i s h e d c o r r e c t p r o c e d u r e s a n d c r e a t i n g a n i n c o r r e c t s p e c i f i c a t i o n . The a s s e s s m e n t a s t o t h e r e a s o n s why a n d how t h e s e f a i l u r e s o c c u r r e d P y r o t e c h n i c s s h o u l d be r e c o g n i z e d as a n show t h e need f o r many improvements.

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e n g i n e e r i n g t e c h n o l o g y , n o t c o n s i d e r e d a s u b s y s t e m o f o t h e r d i s c i p l i n e s , or e v e n worse " n u t s a n d b o l t s " a n d magic. The l a c k o f e x p e r i e n c e d p e r s o n n e l h a v e d i s c o u r a g e d program m a n a g e r s from e a r l y c o n s i d e r a t i o n s o f t h e i r u s e , e v e n when important b e n e f i t s c a n b e a c h i e v e d . G u i d e l i n e s are n e e d e d f o r p y r o t e c h n i c s y s t e m d e s i g n , d e v e l o p m e n t , ( w h i c h i n c l u d e s d e m o n s t r a t i o n o f f u n c t i o n a l m a r g i n s ) , q u a l i f i c a t i o n a n d a c c e p t a n c e . Some p a s t managers h a v e a c t u a l l y i m p l i e d t h a t p y r o t e c h n i c s c a n n o t r e a l l y b e u n d e r s t o o d , a n d t h e b e s t t h a t c a n bo done is t o d e v e l o p s t a t i s t i c a l v e r i f i c a t i o n s o f s u c c e s s . T h a t is, o n c e a s r l c c e s s f u l p e r f o r m a n c e w a s a c h i e v e d , r e l i a b i l i t y w a s b a s e d on r e p e a t e d s u c c e s s . S t a t i s t i c a l a p p r o a c h e s are n o t a p o s s i b l e s o l u t i o n where cost is t h e k e y , p a r t i c u l a r l y when e n t e r e d i n t o w i t h o u t knowing i f t h e s y s t e m i s o v e r - or m a r y i n a l l y d e s i g n e d . I n a d e q u a t e communication a n d t h e l a c k of i n f o r m a t i o n h a v e p r e v e n t e d t h e o p t i m i z a t i o n o f d e s i g n a p p r o a c h e s a n d f a i l u r e a n a l y s e s . Most C e n t e r s h a v e worked p y r o t e c h n i c e f f o r t s i n d e p e n d e n t l y . Few p y r o t e c h n i c p u b l i c a t i o n s e x i s t , w i t h no l i b r a r y o r c e n t r a l s o u r c e o f i n f o r m a t i o n . P a r t i c u l a r l y l a c k i n g is a d a t a b a n k f o r f a i l u r e s . W i t h o u t s h a r i n g , t h e o p p o r t u n i t y f o r c a p i t a l i z i n g on t h e v a r i e d e x p e r i e n c e o f t h e h a n d f u l o f s p e c i a l i s t s i n t h i s c o u n t r y is l i m i t e d . T h e r e is a n i n a d e q u a t e number o f e x p e r i e n c e d p y r o t e c h n i c p e r s o n n e l a n d c a p a b l e t e s t f a c i l i t i e s t o a s s u r e s u c c e s s f u l s y s t e m management. More e x p e r i e n c e d p y r o t e c h n i c p e r s o n n e l a n d test f a c i l i t i e s are needed. W i t h o u t s u f E i c i e n t manpower, t r a i n i n g , a n d t e s t f a c i l i t i e s , p r o g r a m m a n a g e r s h a v e h a d t o o g r e a t a r e l i a n c e on m a n u f a c t u r e r s . P y r o t e c h n i c p e r s o n n e l h a v e n o f o r m a l t . r a i n i n q o p p o r t u n i t i e s , are g e n e r a l l y t r a n s i e n t , a n d are n o t e n c o u r a g e d t o s t a y i n t h e f i e l d . C o n s e q u e n t l y , t o o heavy a r e l i a n c e on m a n u f a c t u r e r s h a s m a n a g e r s , as w e l l a s p r o p o s i n g on p y r o t e c h n i c e v o l v e d i n e d u c a t i n g p y r o t e c h n i c s y s t e m s w i t h o u t a n a c c u r a t e d e f i n i t i o n o f r e q u i r e m e n t s . F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e r e is a n e e d f o r p e r s o n n e l , w o r k i n g i n a c t i v e f a c i l i t i e s t o d e v e l o p "hands-on" e x p e r i e n c e t o become more k n o w l e d g e a b l e c u s t o m e r s , t o manage s y s t e m f a i l u r e m a n u f a c t u r e r s ' v e s t e d i n t e r e s t s , a n d t o c o n d u c t a n a l y s e s , i n d e p e n d e n t from t h e t h e n e c e s s a r y r e s e a r c h a n d d e v e l o p m e n t t o m e e t f u t u r e r e q u i r e m e n t s . Too many s p e c i f i c a t i o n s a n d t o o wide a v a r i e t y o f p y r o t e c h n i c d e v i c e s e x i s t , c r e d t i n g c o s t l y c o n f u s i o n i n s e l e c t i o n by u s e r s , as w e l l as c o n t i n u a l l y c r e a t i n g new p r o b l e m s o r r e i n v e n t i n g t h e old o n e s . Each C e n t e r h a s d e v e l o p e d i t s own s p e c i f i c a t i o n s and p r e f e r r e d h a r d w a r e . S t a n d a r d i z e d s p e c i f i c a t i o n s ant3 h a r d w a r e , e x t e n d i n g t h e a p p r o a c h o f p r o v i d i n g G o v e r n m e n t - f u r n i s h e d e q u i p - ment, would g r e a t l y f a c i l i t a t e c o n s i d e r a t i o n a n d u s e o f p y r o t e c h n i c s y s t e m s , as w e l l a s e n h a n c i n g s y s t e m r e l i a b i l i t y . However, t o a v o i d t h e m a j o r p i t f a l l oE m i s a p p l y i n g t e c h n o l o g y , clear d e f i n i t i o n s o f s y s t e m p e r f o r m a n c e capabilit i e s must be d e v e l o p e d a n d documented. No p y r o t e c h n i c t e c h n o l o g y p l a n n i n g e x i s t s on a n agency-wide b a s i s . T h e r e is a n e e d t o d e v e l o p o v e r a l l NASA H e a d q u a r t e r s - s p o n s o r e d p l a n n i n g t o manage a d v o c a t e s are n e e d e d f o r a d m i n i s t r a t i v e a n d t h i s d i s c i p l i n e . H e a d q u a r t e r s f u n d i n g s u p p o r t t o i n f l u e n c e a l l a d m i n i s t r a t i v e l e v e l s t o r e c o g n i z e t h e activ i t i e s n e c e s s a r y t o e l e v a t e p y r o t e c h n i c s t o a t e c h n o l o g y a n d i n c o r p o r a t e t h i s management s t r u c t u r e s , create a p r o b l e m t e c h n o l o g y i n t o an a c t i v e r o l e i n

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r e p o r t i n g and communication system, and p r o v i d e t h e n e c e s s a r y f u n d i n g , i n d e - p e n d e n t from major program o f f i c e s , t o accomplish in-house a p p l i c a t i o n a l s t u d i e s , f a i l u r e a n a l y s e s and r e s e a r c h and development.

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RECOMMENDATIONS The f o l l o w i n g recommendations a r e o f f e r e d f o r m e e t i n g t h e p y r o t e c h n i c t e c h n o l o g y needs d e s c r i b e d i n t h e above c o n c l u s i o n s : 1. C o n t i n u e i n t e r - C e n t e r c o o r d i n a t i o n t h r o u g h t h e NASA/DOD Aerospace P y r o t e c h n i c Systems S t e e r i n g Committee and symposia a c t i v i t i e s t o : a . Promote t e c h n o l o g y exchange b. A s s i s t i n problem s o l v i n g and f a i l u r e r e s o l u t i o n c. S u p p o r t d e s i g n r e v i e w s d. Conduct i n d e p e n d e n t t e c h n i c a l a s s e s s m e n t s of systems. 2. P r o v i d e g u i d e l i n e s , handbooks and s p e c i f i c a t i o n s f o r d e s i g n , development, q u a l i f i c a t i o n , l o t a c c e p t a n c e , s a f e t y , r e l i a b i l i t y and q u a l i t y a s s u r a n c e 3. Encourage r e c r u i t m e n t and r e t e n t i o n of p y r o t e c h n i c p e r s o n n e l 4. P r o v i d e s a f e t y and e n g i n e e r i n g t r a i n i n g , i n c l u d i n g "hands-on" e x p e r i e n c e 5. Compile e x p e r i e n c e t h r o u g h a NASA-wide p y r o t e c h n i c problem r e p o r t i n g s y s t e m t o m a i n t a i n a t e c h n o l o g y b a s e . 6. Expand t h e c o n c e p t of Government-furnished equipment w i t h c l e a r l y d e f i n e d f u n c t i o n a l c a p a b i l i t i e s . 7. Recommend and implement p y r o t e c h n i c p l a n n i n g t o improve p e r s o n n e l e x p e r i e n c e and p r o v i d e f o r needed t e c h n o l o g y and development.

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REFERENCES 1 . Halpert, Gerald: F l i g h t Battery Problems, Their Causes and Impact, A Survey f o r NASA Headquarters. JPL D-3207, May 1986. 2 . Bemcnt, Laurence J . and Schimmel, Morry L . : I n v e s t i g a t i o n o f Super*Zip Separation J o i n t . NASA TM-4031, May 1988. 3 . DOD-E-83578A, "Explosive Ordnance f o r Space V e h i c l e s " . October 15, 1987.

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T A B L E I NASA/DOD AEROSPACE PYROTECHNIC SYSTEMS S T E E R I N G C O M M I T T E E MEMBERS -NAME N o r m a n R . Schulze, C h a i r m a n A F F I L I A T I O N N A S A H e a d q u a r t e r s W i l l i a m J. F i t z g e r a l d ( A i r F o r c e ) A e r o s p a c e C o r p o r a t i o n R i c h a r d G . P l i h a l M i c h a e l Z y d o w i c z T h o m a s G r a v e s G a r l a n d T h o m a s L a u r e n c e J. I 3 e m e n t T h o r n a s S e e h o l z e r Joe D. D a v i s G e r a l d L a i b N A S A G o d d a r d Jet P r o p u l s i o n Lab N A S A Johnson N A S A K e n n e d y N A S A L a n g l e y N A S A L e w i s NASA Marshall N a v a l S u r f a c e W a r f a r e C e n t e r

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TABLE I1 FAILURE SOURCE CATEGORIES AND D E F I N I T I O N S 1. Incorrect Specification - An unnecessary or erroneous requirement. 2. Bad System Test Procedures - System test procedures inadequate or erroneous. 3. Manufacturer's Poor Quality Control - All quality control in place, but not followed. 4. Manufacturer's Bad Procedures - The quality control procedures or manufacturing methods inadequate. 5. Bad Design - Personnel did not apply known technology. 6. Lack of Understanding - Personnel did not have the needed technology. 7. Misapplication of Hardware - Use of previously qualified device in an inappropriate application.

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DATE TABLE 11I SOURCE OF F A 1LLTRE RESOLL'TION C l a s s i f i e d S S I f a i l e d t o f i r e Loss of l o t and po- Lack of under- R e j e c t e d l o t , q u a l i f i e d d u r i n g s e p a r a t i o n nut t e n t i a l l o s s of re- / s t a n d i n g new l o t t e s t ( v i b r a t i o n - dundancy and m i s s i o n i n d u c e d s e p a r a t i o n of I p y r o t e c h n i c mix from 1 b r i d g e w i r e ) B r i d g e w i r e r e s i s t a n c e Loss of l o t R e j e c t e d l o t LAT f a i l u r e s f o l l o w i n g e l e c t r o s t a t i c t e s t i n g and shipment Lack of unders t a n d i n g U n i v e r s a l NASA S t a n d a r d I n i t t a - I n d i c a t i o n of b a s i c S t i l l i n work Lack of underweakness of NSI, a s s t a n d i n g A p p l i c a t i o n t o r (NSI) f a i l e d t o f u n c t , i o n i n Lot Accep- w e l l a s p o t e n t i a l l o s s t a n c e T e s t i n g (LAT) a t o f c o l d - t e m p e r a t u r e -260" F m i s s i o n s i n STS o r w i d e v a r i e t y of spacec r a f t m i s s i o n s D e t o n a t o r f u n c t i o n e d P o t e n t i a l premature Lack of under- Changed p r o c e d u r e s , reduced i n i t i a t i o n i n h a n d l i n g , s t a n d i n g r e q u i r e m e n t i n e l e c t r o s t a t L C d i s - c h a r g e LAT ( i n c a p a b l e i n s t a l l a t i o n , and o f s h u n t i n g e n e r g y ground t e s t away from e x p l o s i v e ) In

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INITIATION (CONTINUED) TABLE I11 SOURCE OF 'PROJECT7 IMPACT FAILURE RESOLLTION FAILURE 1986 HALOE P i n p u l l e t f o r t e l e - P o t e n t i a l l o s s of re- Lack of under- Redesigned, r e q u a l i f i e d scope cover f a i l e d t o dundancy and l o s s of s t a n d i n g f u n c t i o n at high- m i s s i o n c u r r e n t input i n systems development ( f o i l bridgewire broke t o o soon) Centaur Detonator f o r s t a g i n g P o t e n t i a l l o s s of re- Lack of under- Redesigned, new l o a d i n g prof a i l e d t o f u n c t i o n i n dundancy and l o s s of s t a n d i n g and manu c e d u r e s and r e q u a l i f i e d LAT (bridgewire-to- m i s s i o n f a c t u r e r ' s bad p r o p e l l a n t s e p a r a t i o n ) p r o c e d u r e s / Sidewinder I n i t i a t o r f a i l i n g LAT P o t e n t i a l l o s s of re- M a n u f a c t u r e r ' s Could not d u p l i c a t e M i s s i l e due t o 3% of l o t ex- dundancy and l o s s of poor q u a l i t y f a i l u r e . Cleaned up h i b i t i n g i n c r e a s e d m i s s i o n c o n t r o l p l a n t , enhanced c o n t r o l r e s i s t a n c e t o open c i r c u i t s (time depend e n t c o r r o s i o n of b r i d g e w i r e ) 1984 U n i v e r s a l NASA Standard I n i t i - P o t e n t i a l l o s s of re- I Lack of under- R e j e c t e d l o t , r e v i s e d manu- A p p l i c a t i o n a t o r (NSI) f a i l e d i n dundancy and l o s s of i s t a n d i n g f a c t u r i n g p r o c e d u r e s LAT ( r e q u i r e d t o o much m i s s i o n f o r wide time t o f u n c t i o n ) v a r i e t y of s p a c e c r a f t a p p l i c a t i o n s

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NASA/AIR FORCE MROSPACE PYROTECHNIC FAILURES I N I T I A T I O N ( C O h T I N U E D ) SOURCE OF DATE P R O J E Cr IMPACT FAIT,ITRE S h u t t l e SRB e x p l o s i v e t r a n s f e r P o t e n t i a l damage t o M a n u f a c t u r e r ' s R e j e c t e d l o t m a n i f o l d s i d e bushing S h u t t l e from fragment poor q u a l i t y conf a i l e d i n LAT(bushing i m p a c t t r o l C l a s s i f i e d Rocket motor i n i t i a t o r P o t e n t i a l l o s s of re- Lack of under- Reduced i n s t a l l a t i on b r i d g e w i r e s opened dundancy, l o s s of s t a n d i n g t o r q u e , r e d e s i g n e d , r e - ( o v e r t o r q u i n g d u r i n g m i s s i o n i n s t a l l a t i o n ) q u a l i f i e d X~~XXXXSXx x x x x x x ~ x ~ ~ x x x x x x ~ x x x ~ ~ ~ x ~ ~ x x ~ ~ ~ - X i 9 8 2 C l a s s i f i e d I n i t i a t o r s f a i l e d t o m i s s i o n Lack of under- R e d e s i g n e d , r e q u a l i f i e d X L o s s of X f i r e a t 7-ampere X f l i g h t l e v e l ; d e v e l - X oped a t 3.5 amperes s t a n d i n g X X X XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxXXXXXXXxxxxxxx Delt.? P o t e n t i a l l o s s of re- Manuf a c t d r e r ' s I n c r e a s e d q u a l i t y c o n t r o l D e t o n a t o r f o r r o c k e t a s s i s t f a i l e d i n [.AT dundancy, ( e x t r a n e o u s w i r e m i s s i o n a c r o s s b r i d g e w i r e s l o s s of poor qual.€ty cont r o l S h u t t l e 1 SRB n o z z l e s e v e r a n c e P o t e n t i a l i n c r e a s e d Bad d e s i g n R e d e s i g n e d , r e s t r i c t e d u s e 1 c h a r g e f a i l e d LAT t o SRB c a s e a t of r e c y c l e d e x p l o s i v e , r e - damage impact q u a l i f i e d ( l a r g e p a r t i c l e w a t e r e x p l o s i v e ) XXXXXXXX FLIGHT FAILIlRE

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TABLE I11 NASA/AIR FORCE AEROSPACE PYROTECHNIC FAILURES INITIATION (CONTINUED) DATE PROJ Ea FAILURE 1 -- SOURCE OF IMPACT FAILURE RESOLUTION Explosive t r a n s f e r P o t e n t i a l l o s s of re- M a n u f a c t u r e r ' s R e j e c t e d l o t , i n c r e a s e d D e l t a assembly f a i l e d t o dundancy, l o s s of poor q u a l i t y con- q u a l i t y c o n t r o l f u n c t i o n i n LAT (over- m i s s i o n t r o l h e a t e d e x p l o s i v e i n welding assembly) C l a s s i f i e d I n i t i a t o r f a i l e d LAT of l o t , p o t e n t i a l Lack of under- Manufactured new l o t Loss -65' F f i r i n g (im- of redundancy and s t a n d i n g l o s s p r o p e r f i r i n g c u r r e n t ) m i s s i o n S h u t t l e Crew escape e x p l o s i v e P o t e n t i a l l o s s of re- Bad manufac- R e j e c t e d l o t , modified t r a n s f e r l i n e f a i l e d dundancy, l o s s of t u r e r ' s procedure t o o l i n g and manufacturing t o propagate i n U T e s c a p e c a p a b i l i t y p r o c e d u r e s ( e x p l o s i v e cord overcompressed i n swaging assembly) D e l t a C u t t e r f a i l e d t o func- Delay of t e s t , l o s s of Bad system t e s t Improved q u a l i t y c o n t r o l : t i o n i n ground t e s t hardware p r o c e d u r e s p r o c e d u r e s and equipment ( m i s a p p l i c a t i o n of c u r r e n t below a l l - f i r e 1 l e v e l before a p p l y i n g f i r i n g s i g n a l c a l i b r a t i o n I D e l t a E x p l o s i v e b o l t f a i l e d P o t e n t i a l l o s s of re- M a n u f a c t u r e r ' s R e j e c t e d l o t , i n c r e a s e d t o f u n c t i o n i n LAT dundancy, l o s s of bad procedures q u a l i t y c o n t r o l (misplaced component m i s s i o n 1 i n i n i t i a t o r )

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TABLE 111 NAsA/AIR FORCE AEROSPACE PYROTECHNIC FAILURES SOURCE OF DATE FAILL'RE IMPACT FAILL'RE RESOLUTION D e l r a D e t o n a t a r ( o n e of l o t ) P o t e n t i a l p e r s o n n e l Accepted l o t M a n u f a c t u r e r ' s f u n c t i a ~ n e d i n e l e c t r o - h a z a r d , p r e m a t u r e p o o r q u a l i t y cons t a t i c LAT f u n c t i o n i n pre- t r o l l a u n c h D e l t a E x p l o s i v e t r a n s f e r Delay of f l i g h t . Po- Bad d e s i g n R e d e s i g n e d ( s h o r t e n e d t i p l i n e s f o r r d c k e t t e n t i a l l o s s of re- s e a l ) a s s i s t i g n i t i o n f a i l e d dundancy and l o s s of t o p r o p a g a t e i n LAT m i s s i o n ( t i p s e a l i n t r u d e d Int o g a p a n d b l o c k e d o u t p u t of donor exp l o s t v e s ) D e l t a Rocket a s s i s t s a f e / a r m Delay of f l i g h t . Po- Bad d e s i g n R e d e s i g n e d , r e q u a l i f i e d f a i l e d t o p r o p a g a t e i n t e n t i a l l o s s of re- LAT ( i m p r o p e r l y re- dundancy and l o s s of t a i n e d t r a n s f e r c h a r g e ' m i s s i o n C l a s s i f i e d Valve c a r t r i d g e f a i l e d S c h e d u l e LAT ( e x t r e m e l y l o n g i n c o n s i s t e n t f u n c t i o n t i m e s ) d e l a y Laclc of under- Changed vendor, used s t and i n g b r i d g e w i r e i n s t e a d of t h i n f i l m b r i d g e C l a s s i f i e d I n i t i a t o r f a i l e d t o P o t e n t i a l l o s s of re- Lack of under- R e d e s i g n e d , r e q u a l i f i e d 1 f i r e i n f u n c t i o n a l dundancy t e s t ( s l u r r y b r i d g e - , w i r e mix f l a k i n g off i n two-year time f r a m e ) and m i s s i o n s t a c d i n g

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TABLE I11 NASA/AIR FORCE AEROSPACE PYROTECHNIC FAILURES INITIATION (CONTINUED) SOURCE OF DATE PROJECT FAILURE IMPACT FAILURE RESOLUTION 1972 Viking S t a n d a r d i n i t i a t o r P o t e n t i a l l o s s of re- Lack of under- Enhanced q u a l i t y c o n t r o l f a i l e d t o f u n c t i o n dundancy and l o s s of s t a n d i n g under cold-temperature m i s s i o n LAT 1971 C l a s s i f i e d Reefing c u t t e r f a i l e d P o t e n t i a l l o s s of re- M a n u f a c t u r e r ' s Redesigned, r e q u a l i f i e d d u r i n g system t e s t dundancy and m i s s i o n poor q u a l i t y (manufacturer 's change i n d e l a y mix which res u l t e d i n i n a b i l i t y t o i g n i t e output c h a r g e ) c o n t r o l 1969 C l a s s i f i e d C a r t r i d g e s f a i l e d t o P o t e n t i a l l o s s of re- Bad d e s i g n Redesigned, r e q u a l i f i e d f i r e i n s e r v i c e l i f e dundancy and m i s s i o n e v a l u a t i o n ( l o s s of s e a l ) 1968 U n i v e r s a l Apollo s t a n d a r d i n i t i - P o t e n t i a l hazard t o M a n u f a c t u r e r ' s Modified m a n u f a c t u r e r ' s A p p l i c a t i o n a t o r functioned i n p e r s o n n e l , premature bad procedures p r o c e d u r e s and q u a l i t y e l e c t r o s t a t i c LAT i n i t i a t i o n c o n t r o l (epoxy i n spark gap) 1967 Apollo End d e t o n a t i n g c a r t - P o t e n t i a l l o s s of M a n u f a c t u r e r ' s Modified manufacturer 's r i d g e f o r i n t e r s t a g e redundancy, l o s s of bad procedures p r o c e d u r e s and q u a l i t y g u i l l o t i n e f a i l e d t o m i s s i o n c o n t r o l f u n c t i o n i n LAT ( a l c o h o l i n t r u s i o n int o e x p l o s i v e )

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TABLE 111 NASAIAIR FORCE AEROSPACE PYROTECHNIC FAILURES SOURCE OF DATE PROJECT F G I L ' X F . IMP9CT F A T '.I'RE RESOLI'T TO?; > ( X X X X ~ X X X X X X ~ X X ~ X ) ~ X X X X X X Y X X Y X X X Y Y . ~ S X > ( X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X . Y X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Y X X X X X X X X X Y X X X X1966 A t l a s Redundant d e t o n a t o r s L o s s of ~ n i s s i o n Y a n u f a c t u r e r ' s S c r a p p e d l o t ; e n h a n c e d X X f a i l e d t o i n i t i a t e X v e h i c l e d e s t r u c t X ( c o n t a m i n a t e d ex- X p l o s i v e d e g r a d a t i o n ) bad p r o c e d u r e s p r o c e d u r e s and q u a l i t y X c o n t r o l X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Y X X X X X X X X X ~ X X X X X Y M X X X ~ X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1964 D e l t q E l e c t r o s t a t i c d i s - 3 p e o p l e k i l l e d , 8 R e d e s i g n e d s q u i b and c h a r g e i g n i t i o n of i n j u r e d . s q u i b i n 500-pound f l i g h t s o l i d r o c k e t , n o t o r i n v e r t i c a l s t a n d XXXXXXXX FLIGHT FAILIRE Lack o f under- D e l a y of s t a n d i n g i g n i t e r

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TABLE I V NASA/AIR FORCE AEROSPACE PYR(TPECHN1C FAILURES SOURCE OF DATE I PROJECT FAILL'RE IMPACT FAILURE RESOLLJTION FLTSATCOM I n i t i a t o r o u t p u t p e r - P o t e n t i a l l o s s of l o t Lack o f under- I n c r e a s e d f r e q u e n c y of f ormance d e g r a d i n g i n s e r v i c e l i f e program s t a n d i n g s u r v e i l l a n c e t e s t i n g Magellan P i n p u l l e r f a i l e d t o P o t e n t i a l l o s s of Bad d e s i g n , m i s - Replaced, r e q u a l i f i e d s t r o k e a g a i n s t f l i g h t m i s s i o n s i d e l o a d (NSI o u t p u t r e s t r i c t e d , c a u s i n g r e d u c e d o u t p u t and h o u s i n g d e f o r m a t i o n a g a i n s t working p i s t o n ) N W a p p l i c a t i o n of h a r d w a r e 1986 I TITAN 3 4 D F a i r i n g d e t o n a t o r P o t e n t i a l l o s s of re- Lack of under- Redesigned, r e q u a l i f i e d f a i l e d LAT o u t p u t test dundancy and m i s s i o n s t a n d i n g (Charge d i s p l a c e d i n t e m p e r a t u r e c y c l i n g ) B o l t c u t t e r f a i l e d LAT Unnecessary f a i l u r e I n c o r r e c t s p e c i - C o r r e c t s p e c i f i c a t i o n ( i m p r o p e r compression a n a l y s i s , a d d i t i o n a l I f i c a t i o n I margin t e s t r e q u i r e - t e s t i n g ($300K) m e n t ) Magellan P i n p u l l e r f a i l e d t o P o t e n t i a l l o s s of re- M i s a p p l i c a t i o n o f Changed m a n u f a c t u r e r and O r b i t e r f u n c t i o n i n LAT (NSI dundancy, l o s s of h a r d w a r e , l a c k o f d e s i g n p r o d u c e d i n s u f f i c i e n t m i s s i o n p r e s s u r e c a u s e d by c o a t i n g s o f p r e s s u r - i z e d volume) u n d e r s t a n d i n g

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ThELF, IT NASA/AIR FORCE AEROSPACE PYROTECHNIC FAILURES SOURCE OF DATE P R O J E C T F;. 1LI.'RE M P A C T FATI,IIRE RESOLUTION R e l e a s e n u t f a i l e d i n P o t e n t i a l l o s s of re- Lack of under- R e d e s i g n e d f l i g h t q u a l i f i c a t i o n d u n d a n c y , l o s s of s t a n d i n g a t 502 p r o p e l l a n t l o a d s i s s i o n S h u t t l e S h u t t l e O r b i t e r / E T P o t e n t i a l p r e m a t u r e M a n u f a c t u r e r ' s Improved h e a t t r e a t m e n t s e p a r a t i o n b o l t f a i l e d f u n c t i o n , l o s s of b a d p r o c e d u r e s and q u a l i t y c o n t r o l t o meet LAT l o a d re- m i s s i o n q u i r e m e n t s ( c r a c k i.1 s h a n k ) INTEI,SAT V S e p a r a t i o n n u t de- P o t e n t i a l l o s s of M a n u f a c t u r e r ' s E n s u r e c o m p l i a n c e w i t h l i v e r e d w i t h an i n - I m i s s i o n t e r n a l g a s p o r t m i s s i n g I I p o o r q u a l i t y p r o c e d u r e s c o n t r o l I 1984 S h u t t l e S h u t t l e O r b i t e r / E T P o t e n t i a l i n t e r f e r e n c e Bad d e s i g n R e d e s i g n e d , r e q u a l t f i e d s e p a r a t i o n b o l t f a i l e d i n s e p a r a t i o n , l o s s t o p r o d u c e c l e a n se- o f m i s s i o n p a r a t i o n p l a n e i n q u a l i f i c a t i o n (iqt e r n a l p i s t o n e x t e n d e d beyond s e p a r a t i o n p l a n e ) I 1 XXXXXXX)(XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXX X 1 9 8 4 S h u t t l e N o s e g e a r e x t e n s i o n P o t e n t i a l l o s s of Bad d e s i g n R e d e s i g n e d and r e q u a l i f i e d X X t h r u s t e r f a i l e d ( a c t u - O r b i t e r X a t i o n p i s t o n p a r t e d ) I X X XXXXX X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X K x X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x XXYXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXX

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TABLE I V NASA/AIR FORCE AEROSPACE PYROTECBNIC FAILURES IZECHANISXS (CONTINUED) SOURCE OF DATE PROJECT 1 FA1LURE 1 IMPACT 1 FAILURE 1 RESOLUTION 1983 G a l i l e o Bellows a c t u a t o r f o r P o t e n t i a l l o s s of re- M a n u f a c t u r e r ' s Improved m a n u f a c t u r e r ' s l e n s cover f a i l e d i n dundancy, contamina- poor q u a l i t y q u a l i t y c o n t r o l q u a l i f i c a t i o n ( h o u s i n g t i o n of experiment, c o n t r o l r u p t u r e d , v e n t i n g pro- l o s s of p h o t o - o p t i c a l p e l l a n t r e s i d u e ) d a t a 1983 G a l i l e o Release nut f a i l e d t o P o t e n t i a l l o s s of M i s a p p l i c a t i o n of Redesigned ( i n c r e a s e d U l y s s e s f u n c t i o n i n q u a l i f i - m i s s i o n c a t i o n (NSI d e l i v e r s i n s u f f i c i e n t e n e r g y ) h, UI hardware, l a c k of p r o p e l l a n t l o a d ) u n d e r s t a n d i n g 1983 Ground T e s t Explosive b o l t s exper- Loss of experiment Manufacturer 's Define m a t e r i a l and pro- F i x t u r e ienced t e n s i l e f a i l u r e s during l o a d t r a n s f e r c a r r i a g e drop t e s t i n g (hydrogen emb r i t t l e m e n t ) bad procedures c e s s i n g procedures w i t h a d d i t i o n a l d e m o n s t r a t i o n 1982 D e l t a C a r t r i d g e exceeded P o t e n t i a l damage t o Bad d e s i g n Redesigned ( d e c r e a s e d s t r u c t u r e p r o p e l l a n t l o a d ) ; r e p e a t e d maximum a l l o w a b l e outp u t i n LAT LAT 1980 IUS Redundant d e t o n a t o r P o t e n t i a l l o s s of re- Lack of under- Redesigned, r e q u a l i f i e d f a i l e d t o f u n c t i o n dundancy and m i s s i o n s t a n d i n g a f t e r being s u b j e c t e d t o shock g e n e r a t e d by f i r s t d e t o n a t o r

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TXRSC I!' NASA/AIR FORCE AEROSPACE PYROTECHNIC FAILURES SOURCE OF D4TZ PROJE CT FhIi,lTRE IPIP4CT FAILI!RE SESOLI'TIOK 1980 DSCS 111 S e p a r a t i o n nut re- P o t e n t i a l premature r e - M i s a p p l i c a t i o n of Redesigned l e a s e d w h e n s u b j e c t e d l e a s e and l o s s of h a r d w a r e , l a c k of t o q u a l i f i c a t i o n m i s s i o n m e c h a n i c a l shock t e s t . Nut m o d i f i e d t o use o n l y NSI u n d e r s t a n d i n g 1980 S h u t t l e P o t e n t i a l f a i l u r e t o M a n u f a c t u r e r ' s R e j e c t e d l o t SRB n o s e c a p t h r u s t e r c a r t r i d g e produced t o o j e t t i s o n nose c a p , s p e n t SRB t r o l low o u t p u t i n LAT l o s s of p o o r q u a l i t y con- 1979 C l z s s i f i e d l o t , p o t e n t i a l Lack of under- R e d e s i g n e d , r e q u a l i f i e d I n i t i a t o r s f a i l e d TAT Loss of o u t p u t p e r f orrnance redundancy and s t a n d i n g l o s s of (low p r e s s u r e and l o n g m i s s i o n i g n i t i o n d e l a y . M a t e r i a l i n c o w p a t i - b i l i t y ) 1979 C l a s s i f i e d P a r a c h u t e d r o g u e P o t e n t i a l contamina- Lack of under- R e d e s i g n e d i n t e r f a c e m o r t a r t u b e f r d c t u r e d damage t o s t a r ~ d i n g t i o n o r ( h i g h p r e s s u r e s s p a c e c r a f t , r e d u c t i o n c r e a t e d by NSI f r a c - i n performance, l o s s t u r i n g p r o p e l l a n t ) o f m i s s i o n

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TABLE 1'; NASA/AIR FORCE AEROSPACE PYROTECXNIC FAILURES MECHANISHS (CONTINUED) - SOURCE OF DATE PROJECT FAILURE I DIPACT FAILURE RESOLUTION - 1979 C l a s s i f i e d P i n p u l l e r body rup- P o t e n t i a l contaminat u r e d d u r i n g system t i o n of s p a c e c r a f t , t e s t ( i n a d e q u a t e con- r e d u c t i o n i n p e r f o r - t a i n m e n t margin and mance v a r i a t i o n i n m e t a l g r a i n o r i e n t a t i o n ) 1978 C e n t a u r A t l a s Centaur n o s e P o t e n t i a l premature o r M a n u f a c t u r e r ' s Modify p r o c e d u r e s t o f a i r i n g e x p l o s i v e b o l t f a i l u r e t o f u n c t i o n , bad p r o c e d u r e s machine g r o o v e s , based on e x h i b i t i n g wide range l o s s of m i s s i o n m a t e r i a l h a r d n e s s o f s t r e n g t h s i n quali f i c a t i o n (manuf act u r i n g v a r i a t i o n s i n h a r d n e s s ) 1976 TREP Through-bulkhead i n i - L o s s of l o t , p o t e n t i a l M a n u f a c t u r e r ' s Enhanced p r o c e d u r e s t i a t o r s f a i l e d t o l o s s of redundancy, bad p r o c e d u r e s and q u a l i t y c o n t r o l f u n c t i o n i n LAT high- l o s s of m i s s i o n t e m p e r a t u r e t e s t s (contaminated exp l o s i v e ) 1976 E x p l o s i v e t r a n s f e r P o t e n t i a l s p a c e c r a f t l i n e c o n n e c t o r blown damage and contamio f f a redundant n a t i o n t hrough-bulkhead i n i - t i a t o r i n i g n i t i o n test ( r e a r w a r d detonat i o n )

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NASAIAIR FORCE AEROSPACE PYROTECENIC FAILURES >!ECiiAYIS\lS ( C O N T I N U E D ) SOLiRCE OF FAILURE I F i r i n g p i n a s s e m b l i e s P o t e n t i a l l o s s of re- Bad d e s i g n R e d e s i g n e d , r e q u a l i f l e d c o r r o d e d and l o c k e d d u n d a n c y , l o s s of a i r - i n q u a l i f i c a t i o n c r a f t and crew X X X X X X X X ~ X S Y S S S X S X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X ~ X X X X K X ~ ~ ~ X X X X X ~ X X X X X X X ~ X ~ X X X X ~ X X X ~ X X X X ~ X X X X X X1975 S i k e /Xpache P a y l o a d d o o r b e l l o w s L o s s of m i s s i o n Bad d e s i g n R e d e s i g n e d , r e q u a l i f i e d X X f a i l e d i n f l i g h t t o X r e l e a s e d o o r X X XXXXXXKXLXXXXXXY.YXXXXXXXXXXxXXXXXx~~xxxxxXXxxxxmxxmxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxmxxXxxxxxxmxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx I I I 1 I l\j ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ m ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ x ~ ~ X X ~ ~ ~ ( ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ x x x x x i x x x m x X x x x ~ x x x x x ~ x x x x i x x x ~ x ~ x x x x co XI974 Kike!Apache P a y l o a d d o o r b e l l o w s L o s s of m i s s i o n Bad d e s i g n R e d e s i g n e d , r e q u a l i f i e d X X f a i l e d i n f l i g h t t o X r e l e a s e d o o r X X XXXXXXXXXXXXXXYXXmXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxmxxxxxxxxxxmxxxxmxxxxxxxxmxxmxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx C l a s s i f i e d P i n p u l l e r f a l l e d P o t e n t i a l l o s s of Lack o f u n d r r - R e d e s i g n e d , r e q u a l i f i e d d u r i n g s y s t e m test r e d u n d a n c y and ( c a r t r i d g e closur.2 b l o c k i n g p o r t ) m i s s i o n s t a n d i n g I C e n t a l l r Atlas C e n t a u r n o s e P o t e n t i a l damage t o Bad d e s i g n R e d e s i g n e d , r e q u a l i f i e d f a i r i n g e x p l o s i v e b o l t s p a c e c r a f t due t o f a i l e d i n q u a l i f i c a - d e b r i s t i o n ( s e c o n d a r y p i s t o n p a r t e d a f t e r b o l t a c t u a t i o n ) XXXXXXXX FLIGHT PAT LIRE

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TABLE IV NASA/AIR FORCE AEROSPACE PYROTECHNIC FAILURES SOURCE OF DATE PROJECT F A 1LLXE IMPACT F A I L U R E RESOLUTION ~ X X X X ~ X X X ~ X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ X X X X ~ & & I XxxxxXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X1970 Centaur A t l a s Centaur nose Loss of mission Bad d e s i g n Redesigned and i n c o r p o r a t e d X X f a i r i n g e x p l o s i v e nut X f a i l e d t o s e p a r a t e i n X f l i g h t ( n u t segments X imbedded i n washer) e x p l o s i v e b o l t s t o provide X redundancy X X X X X M U U ( X X X X X X X X X X X ~ X X X X X ~ X X X ~ X X X X X X X X ~ X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X ~ X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Small Launch E x p l o s i v e b o l t func- P o t e n t i a l p e r s o n n e l Bad d e s i g n Redesigned, r e q u a l i f i e d Vehicle t i o n e d d u r i n g vibra- s a f e t y hazard, pret i o n t e s t i n g i n mature f u n c t i o n , l o s s q u a l i f i c a t i o n of m i s s i o n C l a s s i f i e d Door r e l e a s e assembly P o t e n t i a l l o s s of Lack of under- Redesigned, r e q u a l i f i e d f a i l e d t o f u n c t i o n m i s s i o n ( n o n s i m u l t a n e i t y of four-point r e l e a s e system) s t a n d i n g C l a s s i f i e d P i s t o n a c t u a t o r f o r P o t e n t i a l l o s s of re- Lack of under- Redesigned, r e q u a l i f i e d high-temperature dundancy and mission s t a n d i n g e l e c t r i c a l s w i t c h f a i l e d t o f u n c t i o n ( i n a d e q u a t e c a p a b i l i t y XXXXXXXX FLIGHT FAILURE

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TABLE V NASA/AIR FORCE AEROSPACE PYROTECHNIC FAILURES SPACECRAFT SEPARATION JOINTS AND LINEAR EXPLOSIVES SOURCE OF DATE PROJECT FAILURE PIPACT RESOLUTION FAILURE S h u t t l e / S e p a r a t i o n j o i n t P o t e n t i a l d e l a y of Lack of under- Revised q u a l i t y c o n t r o l Centaur f a i l e d t o s e p a r a t e i n m i s s i o n , l o s s of s t a n d i n g on p l a t e s , i n c r e a s e d cold-temperature deve- m i s s i o n , l o s s of e x p l o s i v e load lopment ( p l a t e s t o S h u t t l e be f r a c t u r e d too t h i c k and too s o f t ) Centaur Severance charge f o r - P o t e n t i a l l o s s of Bad d e s i g n and Improved q u a l i t y c o n t r o l ward s e a l f a i l e d t o m i s s i o n i n i t i a t e i n LAT (imp r o p e r assembly) I p r o c e d u r e s and t o o l i n g I I S e p a r a t i o n j o i n t P o t e n t i a l l o s s of Lack of under- Redesigned, i n c r e a s e d f a i l e d margin t e s t s m i s s i o n w i t h reduced e x p l o s i v e l o a d i n q u a l i f i c a t i o n I s t a n d i n g e x p l o s i v e load XW(XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX m i s s i o n M a n u f a c t u r e r ' s Improved m a n u f a c t u r e r ' s X X1984 Centaur I A t l a s Centaur A C 6 2 Loss of X f a i l e d i n f l i g h t a t X time of s t a g i n g (se- X p a r a t i o n charge con- X t r i b u t e d t o e x i s t i n g X oxygen l e a k ) bad procedures q u a l i t y c o n t r o l X i n tank assembly X X I X I X XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X ~ X X X X XXXXXXXX FLIGHT FAILURE

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NASA/AIR FORCE AEROSPACE PYROTECENIC FAILURES SPACECRAFT SEPARATION JOINTS AND LINEAR EXPLOSIVES (CONTINUED) SOURCE OF DATE / PROJECT FAILURE I IMPACT FAILURE I RESOLUTION 1983 C e n t a u r S e v e r a n c e c h a r g e f o r - P o t e n t i a l l o s s of M a n u f a c t u r e r s Improved q u a l i t y c o n t r o l ward s e a l f a i l e d t o m i s s i o n i n i t i a t e i n LAT ( s o l - v e n t c o n t a m i n a t i o n ) b a d p r o c e d u r e s 1982 S h u t t l e E x t e r n a l t a n k d e s t r u c t P o t e n t i a l i n a b i l i t y t o M a n u f a c t u r e r ' s R e j e c t e d l o t c h a r g e f a i l e d t o d e s t r u c t t a n k b a d p r o c e d u r e s a c h i e v e p e n e t r a t i o n i n LAT XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X ~ X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~X X X X X X X X X ~ X X X X X X X X ~ X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ W r XI979 T r i d e n t F l i g h t f a i l u r e of Loss of m i s s i o n s Lack o f under- Redesigned, r e q u a l i f i e d X X T r i d e n t missile s e p a r - X t i o n j o i n t s t a n d i n g X X XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXI XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxx XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxx I I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ x ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ x ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ x x ~ ~ ~ ~ x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x XI978 T r i d e n t light f a i l u r e of Loss of m i s s i o n s Lack of under- Redesigned, r e q u a l i f i e d X X T r i d e n t missile s e p a r - X t i o n j o i n t s t a n d i n g X X ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ x ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ x ~ x ~ ~ ~ ~ X X X ~ x ~ x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x S e v e r a n c e c h a r g e f o r - P o t e n t i a l l o s s of ward seal f a i l e d LAT m i s s i o n ( s h e a t h p o r o s i t y ) XXXXXXXX FLIGHT FAILURE M a n u f a c t u r e r ' s Improved q u a l i t y c o n t r o l b a d p r o c e d u r e s

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TABLE V N A S A / A I R FORCE AEROSPACE PYROTECBNIC FAILURES SPACECRAFT SEPARATIOS JOIYTS Ah3 LIATAR EXPLOSIVES (CONTIEC'UED) IMPACT FAILURE I RESOLLTION SOURCE OF Docking r i n g f a i l e d t o Delayed f l i g h t ; poten- Lack of under- Improved q u a l i t y c o n t r o l s e p a r a t e i n S k y l a b t i a l l o s s of redun- s t a n d i n g , manuground t e s t d a n t system f a c t u r e r ' s bad p r o c e d u r e s 1969 A p o l l o A p o l l o - S e r v i c e Module/ P o t e n t i a l l o s s of re- Bad d e s i g n Redesigned, r e q u a l i f i e d Lunar Hodule a d a p t o r dundancy, l o s s of s e v e r a n c e c h a r g e m i s s i o n f a i l e d t o f u n c t i o n i n LAT (RTV s o l v e n t a t t a c k e d c o r d ) W 10 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ATHENA L i n e a r shaped c h a r g e L o s s of m i s s i o n Lack of under- R e d e s i g n e d , r e q u a l i f i e d X f a i l e d t o s e v e r nose cone (damage c a u s e d by f i r s t d e t o n a t o r t o f i r e ) s t a n d i n g X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X ~ X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X ~ ~ X X X X X X X X X X X X m X X X X X X X X X X X X X X L i n e a r shaped c h a r g e f a i l e d t o i n i t i a t e i n s e r v i c e l i f e e v a l u a - t i o n XXXXXXXX FLIGHT FAILURE

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TABLE VI NASA/AIR FORCE AEROSPACE PYROTECENIC FAILURES FIRING CIRCUITS SOURCE OF DATE PROJECT FAILURE IMPACT FAILURE RESOLUTION 1987 Sounding L i g h t n i n g s t r i k e a t Loss of m i s s i o n Complete f i r i n g c i r c u i t Rockets l a u n c h s i t e i g n i t e d 3 of 4 r o c k e t s r e a d i e d f o r l a u n c h ( E l e c t r o - magnetic induced e n e r g y i n p a r t i a l l y s h i e l d e d and grounded f i r i n g l e a d s ) Bad d e s i g n s h i e l d i n g , enhance l i g h t n i n g p r o t e c t i o n 1987 S h u t t l e P y r o t e c h n i c I n i t i a t o r b e i n g r e b u i l t . Bad d e s i g n R e p l a c e a l l r e s i s t o r s U n i t s C o n t r o l l e r (PIC) c i r - c u i t board r e s i s t o r s f a i l i n g ( O u t e r s e a l t h e r m a l l y c r a c k i n g , a l l o w i n g s o l v e n t s t o a t t a c k i n t e r n a l element ) 1983 A i r c r a f t A i r c r a f t c r a s h t e s t experiment Bad system t e s t R e b u i l t c h e c k o u t / f i r i n g Delay of Crash T e s t p o t e n t i a l l o s s of p r o c e d u r e s c a b l e s and c o n s o l e s program d i s c o v e r e d and s t r a y v o l t a g e i n l o s s of exl i f e and f a c i l i t y f i r i n g c i r - p e r i m e n t c u i t s i n f l i g h t checko u t ( p o o r grounding and c o r r o s i o n of c a b l e s / c o n n e c t o r s )

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U B L E VI NASA/AIRFORCE AEROSPACE PYROTECKUIC FAILURES F I R I K G CIRCUITS (CONTISUED) SOURCE OF DATE PROJECT FAILURE MPACT F A 1LURE RESOLUTION I I I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ K ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ X X X X X X X X ~ ~ X X X X X X X ~ Y , XL982 S h u t t l e SRB d e c e l e r a t o r para- Loss of s p e n t SRB's Lack of under- R e d e s i g n e d , r e q u a l i f i e d X X c h u t e r e l e a s e d pre- X m a t u r e l y i n f l i g h t a t X F r u s t r u m s e p a r a t i o n X ( p y r o t e c h n i c shock X a c t i v a t i o n of w a t e r X i m p a c t s e n s o r ) s t a n d i n g X X X X X X X X X X X ~ X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X x x X X ~ X x x K x x M w ~ ~ x ~ x x x ~ x X X x x ~ x X X m x X X X X X X x X X X x x X X x x x X X x I I I I I I I ~ ~ ~ X X X X X ~ ~ K ~ ~ X ~ X ~ X X X X X X ~ M X X X X X X X X X X X ~ W X1981 S h u t t l e SRB n o z z l e f a i l e d t o I n c r e a s e d damage t o Bad d e s i g n R e d e s i g n e d X b X s e v e r i n f l i g h t SRB c a s e a t w a t e r X X (damaged e l e c t r i c a l i m p a c t X c a b l e ) X X X X X K X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X ~ X X X X X m X X X X X X X X X X ~ ~ X X X M X ~ X X ~ X X X X ~ X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X ~ X X I I I 1 I / TITAN 111 1 D e s t r u c t s a f e l a r r n Delay of f l i g h t Bad d e s i g n R e d e s i g n f a i l e d t o arm on l a u n c h pad ( i n c o r r e c t i n t e r f a c e t o l e r a n c e s m e c h a n i c a l l y prev e n t e d a c t u a t i o n ) XXXXXXXX FLIGHT FAILURE

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TABLE V I NASA/AIR FORCE AEROSPACE PYROTECHNIC FAILURES F I R I N G C I R C U I T S (CONTINUED) SOURCE OF DATE P R O J E C T FAILURE MPACT FAILURE RESOLUTION 1972 Centaur Shroud s e p a r a t i o n Damaged t e s t hardware, Bad d e s i g n Redesigned, d i f f e r e n t j o i n t f i r e d primary p o t e n t i a l damage t o c o n n e c t o r s and secondary c h a r g e s s p a c e c r a f t and f l i g h t s i m u l t a n e o u s l y i n v e h i c l e q u a l i f i c a t i o n and rupt u r e d containment ( c o n n e c t o r s on f i r i n g c i r c u i t s swapped) 1970 ATHENA Lanyard-actuated s a f e Modified launch pro- Lack of under- Unresolved f a i l u r e and arm f a i l e d q u a l i - c e d u r e t o arm on pad s t a n d i n g f i c a t i o n ( i n a b i l i t y of d e v i c e t o f u n c t i o n under launch a c c e l e r a - t i o n )

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Average - 3.65 / T F i g u r e 1.- Frequency o f p y r o t e c h n i c f a i l u r e s .

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• 32 - t 4 30 - 4 1 Mechanisms I J 14 8 - I S e p a r a t i o n J o i n t s I I n i t i a t i o n F i r i n g C i r c u i t s F i g u r e 2.- Frequency of p y r o t e c h n i c f a i l u r e s i n f u n c t i o n a l c a t e g o r i e s .

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Poor Quality Control Procedure Figure 4 . - Frequency of pyrotechnic f a i l u r e occurring by cause.

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Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. Access~onNo. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. 2. Government - I I NASA 'I'M-106633 I I 4. Title and Subtitle I I 5. Report Date Pyrotechnic System Failures: Causes and Prevention L 7. AuthorM Laurence J. Bement 9. Performing Organization Name and Address NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, Virginia 23665-5225 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 8. Performing Organization Report No. 10. Work Unit No. 927-11-01-01 11. Contract or Grant No. 113. Type of Report and Period Covered National Aeronautics and Space Administration 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Washington, DC 20546-0001 15. Supplementary Notes 16. Abstract I Although pyrotechnics have successfully accomplished many critical mechanical spacecraft functions, such as ignition, severance, jettison and valving (excluding propulsion) failures continue to occur. This paper provides a listing of 84 failures of pyrotechnic hardware with completed design over a 23-year period, compiled informally by experts from every NASA Center, as well as the Air Force Space Division and the Naval Surface Warfare Center. Analyses are presented as to when and where these failures occurred, their technical source or cause, followed by the reasons why and how these kinds of failures continue to occur. The major contributor is a fundamental lack of understanding of the functional mechanisms of pyrotechnic devices and systems, followed by not recognizing pyrotechnics as an engineering technology, insufficient manpower with "hands-on" experience, too few test facilities, and inadequate guidelines and specifications for design, development, qualification and acceptance. Recommendations are made on both a managerial and technical basis to prevent failures, increase reliability, improve existing and future designs and develop the technology to meet future requirements. 17. Key Words (Suggested by Author(s)) Pyrotechnics Failures 18. Distribution Statement Unclassified - Unlimited Subject Category 18 I 19. Security Classif. (of this report) (of this pagel 21. No. of pages 22. Price 20. Security Classif. Unclassified 40 A 0 3 Unclassified NASA FORM l a OCT 86