Parachute Refurbishment Facility

Parachute systems recovered concurrently with the SRB casings are delivered to the refurbishment facility on reels provided on the retrieval vessels for that purpose. The parachutes for the solid rocket boosters are washed, dried, refurbished, assembled and stored in this facility. New parachutes and hardware from manufacturers also are delivered to the Parachute Refurbishment Facility.

Parachutes arriving from the retrieval operations are untangled, hung systematically on an overhead monorail, and transported to in-line washers and driers that wash and dry them automatically. They are then sent to the refurbishing area, which is equipped with handling equipment for producing and installing risers and associated equipment. After final inspection and acceptance, the chutes are folded and placed in canisters for reuse.

Twenty work tables 8 feet long, 6 feet wide and 30 inches high were obtained from the Johnson Space Center. Eight of these tables have been strung together to provide a structure 64 feet long and 6 feet wide for SRB parachute processing. A number of the 12 remaining tables are used in the parachute facility's major repair area.

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