Alabama researchers find new way to test aging Army missiles

[Elderberry]

    Huntsville Real-Time News By Lee Roop 2/13/2020

Researchers at Alabama A&M University in Huntsville say they may have a new way to test whether aging Army missiles are still good to fire. The breakthrough could save the military “millions of dollars," they believe.

Dr. Paul Ruffin, a senior researcher and adjunct professor, says the Army currently takes older missiles apart to see if they are usable. “We found Optical Raman Spectroscopy can look at a missile’s propellant to determine whether the missile is still good,” Ruffin said in a university release. “The Raman probe can be inserted in the motor, and it shows us whether the propellant in the rocket motor is still useful.”

Dr. James Parker, a program manager in the Army Research Office, visited A&M this week to review the research. “It’s costly the way that it’s done now," Parker said, “because you have to actually sacrifice a missile. In the absence of another method, it’s all we’ve got.” But Parker said the method developed at A&M “looks very promising.”

More: https://www.al.com/news/huntsville/2020/02/alabama-researchers-find-new-way-to-test-aging-army-missiles.html

[Sighlass]

Probable wrote his (Dr. Paul Ruffin) own Wiki page, but pretty impressive accomplishments.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ruffin