Energy Conservation Challenges and Successes with Payload Processing Facilities at Kennedy Space Center

Douglas Thom, The Boeing Company

Abstract:

As the Payload Grounds Operations Contractor (PGOC) at the Kennedy Space Center, The Boeing Company has the responsibility to conserve energy to comply with Executive Order 13123, Greening the Government Through Efficient Energy Management, for NASA. Many of the facilities at KSC were constructed during the 1960's and 1970's. Most of the 1.5 million square feet of facilities Boeing has operation and maintenance responsibilities for are comprised of large, energy intensive clean work areas designed for payload processing activities. Flight hardware such as the Hubble Space Telescope, Mars Pathfinder, and International Space Station flight elements are tested, configured, and prepared for flight in our facilities. Temperature, relative humidity, static pressure, and cleanliness levels must be maintained during processing activities to satisfy critical hardware requirements.

NASA is operating under increasingly tighter budget constraints. Many necessary facility repairs and upgrades are deferred due to budget shortfalls. Funding of energy conservation projects is extremely difficult to secure. This presentation will provide examples of energy conservation strategies that have been fairly successful in this difficult environment. Challenges to the way facilities have always been operated in the past, changes to operational procedures, analysis and scrutiny of what the "real" operational and environmental requirements are, and modifications to energy intensive processes have proven to be very beneficial in reducing energy consumption. Low or no cost energy conservation measures that strive to operate only what is required, when it is needed, at high efficiency, while always satisfying customer requirements, is the overall objective of our energy conservation program.

Biography:

Douglas Thom has a B.S in Electronic Engineering from Northern Illinois University. He also holds a M.S in Energy Management from New York Institute of Technology. Thom has been involved in an engineering and project management capacity, with a focus on energy management, with HVAC systems, temperature control systems, lighting systems, and electrical distribution systems for over 20 years. He is a member of ASHRAE and is a Certified Energy Manager. Thom recently was selected as NASA's sole Energy Champion for the Nation in 2001 as part of the Federal Energy Management Program "You Have the Power" campaign.