Whole-Spacecraft Vibration Isolation for Broadband Attenuation
Abstract
Launch vehicles impart high levels of vibration to spacecraft during launch. The vibration environments are defined over several frequency bands: (1) transient vibration < 80 Hz, (2) random vibration 20 to 2000 Hz, and (3) pyrotechnic shock 100 to 10000 Hz. Loads from transient vibration define spacecraft design of primary structures such as spacecraft bus, solar panel and antenna supports, instrument mounts, etc. Loads from random vibration define the design for spacecraft light structures such as antennas and solar panels, and shock loads define the design of electronic components and instruments. The spacecraft must survive the combination of all vibration environments. This requires spacecraft structures, instruments, and components to be designed to minimize vibration across a broad frequency range. Spacecraft are designed for the short launch to orbit, which is well beyond the requirements for on-orbit performance. A better choice is to reduce the magnitude of the high launch loads across all frequency bands and design smaller and less costly spacecraft. Under a number of contracts from the Air Force Research Laboratory, Space Vehicles Directorate, whole-spacecraft vibration isolation systems have been in development since 1993. This work has resulted in two whole-spacecraft vibration isolation systems (SoftRide) that have been flown on Orbital's Taurus launch vehicles, the first in February 1998 with the GFO spacecraft and the second in October 1998 with the STEX spacecraft. Both of these isolation systems were designed primarily to reduce axial dynamic responses on the spacecraft due to resonant burn excitations from the motors of the solid-fueled booster. from the motors of the solid-fueled booster. A review of flight data from the GFO and STEX flights has shown significant reduction not only in transient vibration but also in random vibration and shock.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA451903
Entities
People
- Conor Johnson
- Dino Sciulli
- Patrick Grosserode
- Paul Wilke