Zidek in front of shuttle launch

Dr. David Trejo, Zachry Career Development Professor I in the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering, and civil engineering undergraduate Jason Zidek recently performed pre- and post-shuttle launch inspections of the launch complex at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Trejo and Zidek discuss failure mechanisms with a NASA engineer.

The space shuttle Endeavour lifted off at 6:55 p.m. CST on its STS-126 mission to the International Space Station Nov. 14. The inspections are part of a new five-year research project to uate and develop new refractory materials for the launch complex, which will soon be used to launch the new generation of spacecraft.

The Texas A&M inspection team assesses damage to launch deflector structure.

Dr. Ken Reinschmidt, Frank/Marathon Ashland Chair Professor, and Hyung Jin Kim, Ph.D. candidate in the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering are working with the research team to develop damage models and to quantify costs associated with damage caused by the launches.

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