wiredinUSA August 2013

NASA technology improves platform safety

New fiber optic technology, jointly developed by NASA with Astro Technology (ATI), has successfully decreased the

ATI and NASA engineers worked jointly at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to design an underwater adhesive clamp prototype for the research. NASA chief technologist Mason Peck said: “What we learn from testing this technology on the oil platforms will benefit a broad range of terrestrial and space applications, and shows NASA’s technology investments support America’s future in space and improve our lives here on Earth." The technology was developed through a Space Act agreement, which NASA uses as a method for partnering with external groups and companies to allow them open access to a wider range of technologies and capabilities.

risk of spills on two oil platforms off the coast of West Africa. The new tendon tension monitoring system (TTMS) can detect slight changes in tension as a result of tides, wave activity, storms and routine boat docking operations, and streams the data in real time, allowing operators to make the alterations required to maintain platform stability. Installed in March on two platforms in the Atlantic Ocean, the TTMS uses a fiber optic strain gauge system and sensor clamps to determine the tension on subsea risers and pipelines.

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