AFRL Engineer Identifies, Solves Problem with Minuteman III Support

  • Published
  • By Mr. Daniel Adducchio, AFRL/RXSAE
  • AFRL Materials & Manufacturing Directorate
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  An engineer from the Air Force Research Laboratory identified the cause of damage to Minuteman III re-entry vehicle support equipment, assessed the damage, and identified novel solutions to allow the command to quickly reduce mishap cost estimates and mitigate future incidents. He developed and provided a risk analysis that allowed Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles to remain operational.
The AFRL engineer used an inventive application of materials science, engineering, and physics of failure principles to identify the extent of the damage. The methods included an electronic troubleshooting process that removed and replaced various equipment elements not previously used by other investigation boards to identify the root cause. These innovative solutions and recommendations allowed the Air Force to quickly assess the damage and estimate repair costs that allowed for prompt repair by the original equipment manufacturer, while ensuring the safety of support equipment personnel and protection of Air Force resources.

During initial operational testing of a refurbished piece of support equipment used to test Minuteman III re-entry vehicles, a catastrophic failure caused damage initially estimated at $2 million. The mishap impacted the ability to test and certify equipment used to validate the serviceability of ICBM re-entry vehicles. Air Force Material Command (AFMC) officials sought AFRL expertise to identify the root cause of failure of critical test equipment involved. An electronic materials engineer was selected to serve as the technical lead on an Air Force Class A Safety Investigation Board (SIB) requested by the AFMC Commander.

Over a three-week period, the engineer successfully directed the technical aspects of the mishap investigation. He identified an improperly wired power adapter, the lack of internal system safety devices, substandard engineering change processes and design deficiencies as contributing factors. He then worked with AFMC, the Program Office, and Ogden-Air Logistics Center technicians, engineers and managers to ensure they understood and accepted the technical get-well plan he devised. It provided a quick reaction solution that effectively restored the Minuteman III re-entry vehicle test equipment to service.