Survival First: The Role of Switzerland in the Second World War

The storied survival of Switzerland in the face of fascism during the Second World War has long been an inspiring topic to historians. But with the reemergence of issues surrounding Swiss banking and economic practices during the war, the question of how a nation with an overwhelming ethnic German population surrounded by the Axis Powers could maintain its independence has become highly contentious. Oftentimes the most simplistic of explanations are offered to explain this paradox, but these analyses are very one-sided and tend to overlook the broad scope of strategy employed by the Swiss to guarantee their continued autonomy. The true reasons for Germany’s failure to invade Switzerland are complex and entail aspects of political and racial ideology, military defense, foreign trade and economic self-reliance. The Swiss were aware of the German threat and took, meticulously, necessary steps in all of these arenas to minimize the threat of invasion. They did so in the ways that best fitted the national ideology of neutrality and the discouraging realities they faced

Using Optically Stimulated Electron Emission as an Inspection Method to Monitor Surface Contamination

During redesign of the Space Shuttle reusable solid rocket motor (RSRM), NASA amended the contract with ATK Launch Systems (then Morton Thiokol Inc.) with Change Order 966 to implement a contamination control and cleanliness verification method. The change order required: (1) A quantitative inspection method (2) A written record of actual contamination levels versus a known reject level (3) A method that is more sensitive than existing methods of visual and black light inspection. Black light inspection is only useful for inspection of contaminants that fluoresce near the 365 nm spectral line and is not useful for inspection of most silicones that will not produce strong fluorescence. Black light inspection conducted by a qualified inspector under controlled light is capable of detecting Conoco HD-2 grease in gross amounts and is very subjective due to operator sensitivity. Optically stimulated electron emission (OSEE), developed at the Materials and Process Laboratory at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), was selected to satisfy Change Order 966. OSEE offers several important advantages over existing laboratory methods with similar sensitivity, e.g., spectroscopy and nonvolatile residue sampling, which provide turn around time, real time capability, and full coverage inspection capability. Laboratory methods require sample gathering and in-lab analysis, which sometimes takes several days to get results. This is not practical in a production environment. In addition, these methods do not offer full coverage inspection of the large component

Laser Shearography Inspection of TPS (Thermal Protection System) Cork on RSRM (Reusable Solid Rocket Motors)

Laser Shearography is a viable inspection method for detection of de-bonds and voids within the external TPS (thermal protection system) on to the Space Shuttle RSRM (reusable solid rocket motors). Cork samples with thicknesses up to 1 inch were tested at the LTI (Laser Technology Incorporated) laboratory using vacuum-applied stress in a vacuum chamber. The testing proved that the technology could detect cork to steel un-bonds using vacuum stress techniques in the laboratory environment. The next logical step was to inspect the TPS on a RSRM. Although detailed post flight inspection has confirmed that ATK Thiokol's cork bonding technique provides a reliable cork to case bond, due to the Space Shuttle Columbia incident there is a great interest in verifying bond-lines on the external TPS. This interest provided and opportunity to inspect a RSRM motor with Laser Shearography. This paper will describe the laboratory testing and RSRM testing that has been performed to date. Descriptions of the test equipment setup and techniques for data collection and detailed results will be given. The data from the test show that Laser Shearography is an effective technology and readily adaptable to inspect a RSRM