WHAT HAPPENS WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES PAVEMENT? This past weekend, SLS’ Jupiter OLS high-speed video lightning surveillance systems imaged a multi-stroke flash that terminated on the edge of the “crawlerway” which connects NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Launch Complex 39A/B. The flash struck about 150ft from the camera. The first several strokes attached to a […]

LIGHTNING RISK ASSESSMENTS FOR MINING OPERATIONS Over the past several years, SLS has worked with several prominent international mining companies to perform lightning risk assessments, per IEC-62305, to quantify lightning-related risk to personnel performing specific tasks at the mines. After realizing the productivity benefits stemming from prior risk assessment results, SLS was recently approached by

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY TAMPA, FL SLS was contracted by the Hillsborough County Airport Authority (Tampa, FL) to provide Subject Matter Expert support for the specification, installation, and verification of a new lightning warning system that will replace the legacy hardware at the Tampa International Airport. HCAA will depend on SLS to evaluate existing technologies

NASA INSTALLS CUSTOM JUPITER OLS AT KENNEDY SPACE CENTER NASA tasked SLS with designing a custom Jupiter Optical Lightning Surveillance (OLS) system to replace a legacy high-speed camera. The initial system was installed on the roof of NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), where it provides continuous lightning monitoring for Launch Complex 39B. The Jupiter OLS

NASA AWARDS SLS WITH CONTRACT FOR CUSTOM LIGHTNING MONITORING SYSTEM The NASA Launch Services Program (LSP) awarded SLS with a contract to develop a custom, portable single-station lightning monitoring system. The system will locate nearby lightning strikes, measure the electromagnetic fields, and estimate the return stroke peak currents. Operators will utilize the data to help

SOLAR FARM LIGHTNING VULNERABILITY STUDY Solar farms can be particularly vulnerable to lightning-related damage if proper protection measures are not implemented. SLS recently performed a lightning vulnerability study for a large solar farm in North Florida. The solar farm had previously experienced damage as a direct result of lightning. SLS executed a thorough drawing review

SLS PERFORMS LABORATORY COMPONENT FAILURE ANALYSES FOR NASA LSP NASA LSP (Launch Service Program) at the Kennedy Space Center tasked SLS with performing laboratory failure analyses of space-grade integrated circuits that have been prone to damage from external electrical transients (mostly lightning related) during past missions. SLS engineers designed custom circuit boards to inject precision

SLS HAND-HELD IMPULSE GENERATOR IN USE In February 2021, NASA Engineers used SLS’ hand-held impulse generator to verify the performance of the down-conductor current measurements on the Launch Complex 39B lightning protection system. LC-39B will support NASA’s upcoming Artemis I mission. The portable device fits in a small rugged case, requires no external power source,

SLS DESIGNS CUSTOM HARDWARE TO SUPPORT NASA’S SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM VEHICLE In 2020, SLS was approached by NASA to assess the vulnerability of some Space Launch System circuits at the Stennis Space Center B-2 test stand. NASA decided to engage SLS to design an enclosure to be installed between the test stand and the vehicle

FALCON 9 MANNED LAUNCH LIGHTNING MONITORING SLS’ network of Jupiter OLS and Jupiter TMS lightning monitoring systems kept a watchful eye over Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center last week as SpaceX prepared to launch American astronauts from US soil for the first time since 2011. Fortunately, the lightning activity that resulted in