• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Wasp Serving as JSF Test Platform

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS101001-01
10/1/2010

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) Johnny Michael, USS Wasp (LHD 1) Public Affairs

NORFOLK (NNS) -- As part of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) testing process, a team from Norfolk Naval Shipyard's (NNSY) Engineering and Planning department inspected spaces onboard USS Wasp (LHD 1) Sept. 7-14 in an effort to account for the ship's total weight.

The week-long data-gathering project culminated with what is known as an "inclining experiment" Sept. 14, in which the 17 person NNSY team conducted a series of measurements in approximately 1,600 spaces to determine Wasp's current weight and center of gravity.

To accomplish such a large undertaking, the team broke up into smaller groups, each tackling the spaces of a specific ship's division. The groups were escorted by Sailors from the division they were inspecting, and they determined what changes have occurred within a given space since the ship was last measured in 1990. The NNSY personnel then determined how much weight the ship normally contains in that given space versus what would be there when the ship deploys.

"It's a lot of spaces, and they're up and down as well," said Allen Lester, a naval architect with the team. "We started in a pump room [at the bottom of the ship] and ended up on the 0-7 level [at the top]."

Lester's team mate, naval architect Bobby Griffin, noted that the process of getting to, and into, each space has been made immeasurably easier thanks to a cooperative and knowledgeable crew who cut a lot of time off the whole process.

During the experiment, Wasp was disconnected from shore services and rested about 20 feet off the pier. Tugs were on hand to keep the ship in place, but backed off and let the ship drift during each measurement.

"We took the draft readings, and from that we determined how much the ship weighs. We also have three inclinometers which measured the attitude of the ship," Whitaker said. "We had 28 concrete blocks on the flight deck: half on port, half on starboard. From there we moved the blocks around a number of times to get different readings to help determine what the center of gravity for the ship is."

Each of the docking blocks weigh in at 18,000 pounds, and are nearly the size of a compact car. The entire process helped determine what impact shifting loads from various aircraft and equipment on the flight deck will have on the ship's center of gravity.

Wasp Damage Control Assistant, Cmdr. Todd Mencke, said the purpose of the inclining experiment was to determine the success of a recent fuel compensation tank installation, and to provide data needed for upcoming JSF modifications.

"It's to verify the ship's stability, providing accurate information after the fuel compensation tank installation, and in preparation for the JSF," said Mencke.

Wasp was selected this year to be the test platform for the F-35B Lightning II, the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the JSF. The ship will undergo a series of modifications and assessments through the coming months as it prepares to be the first ship to carry the new fighter.

For more news from USS Wasp (LHD 1), visit www.navy.mil/local/lhd1/.