scope:

Description of Driving Event:

Three RCS primary thruster injector/chamber assemblies were damaged when the oven temperature control system malfunctioned and permitted the temperature to reach an estimated 1400 deg F during a cerachrome insulation baking process that should have been limited to 625 deg F. These units should have been rejected at this point, but quality assurance was not notified. As a result, the full extent of damage was not determined until the severe discoloration of titanium alloy and columbium parts was noted during the post-baking weighing process, about three weeks later.