DCH GETS SENSOR CONTRACT.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

VALENCIA - Sensing potential hydrogen leaks on the space shuttle could be the job of safety devices to be manufactured at a company that recently expanded in the Valencia Industrial Center, officials said Thursday.

DCH Technology Inc. said it has been selected to develop an enhanced version of its Robust Hydrogen Sensor for systems on the shuttle fleet and the X33 next generation of space vehicles.

The company's Robust Hydrogen Sensor has already performed well in National Aeronautics and Space Administration testing, opening the door for future uses, said Dennis Reid, director of sales and marketing.

``You could see why it would be in demand for normal leak detection if it could qualify for such stringent NASA vehicles,'' said Reid, pointing to uses in detecting possible leaks in nuclear waste barrels, transformer maintenance and other applications.

``Look at what the possibilities are.''

The company said the sensor will serve as leak detector in new seal systems being developed by Shape Change Technologies LLC, the prime contractor on a NASA development program.

The amount of the contract with Shape Change Technologies was not disclosed, Reid said.

The quarter-inch-square device is about the size of a computer chip, he said, and logs data.

``It's a detector inside the seal to determine whether or not there's a leak,'' Reid explained. ``Hydrogen cannot be seen or smelled . . . Hydrogen sensors are important.''

Reid said that an off-the-shelf version of the sensor recently performed well in a NASA test.

The company recently opened a a 17,000-square-foot facility in the industrial center, where Reid said it will manufacture and produce the product.

The company employs 60 workers at its Valencia and Wisconsin facilities.