![]() ![]() “Launching into space is extremely noisy so we simulate the acoustic environment during tests and measure how the satellite responds. ![]() “To compensate for harsh dynamic environments, payloads must be designed and tested to very high dynamic levels,” Choukri says. According to Mostapha Choukri, senior business development manager for aerospace and defense testing solutions at Siemens Digital Industries Software, excessive vibration and shock loads can be satellite killers, causing permanent damage to electronics, optics, and other sensitive equipment. Owing to their high value, satellite vibration qualification tests are closely monitored and carefully conducted. “And as we are gearing up to explore the Moon and Mars in the not-too-distant future, we anticipate that the need for vibration testing will only increase to accommodate those missions.”Ĭritically, it is not just the spacecraft that need to be able to withstand extremes – so too do the payloads and equipment that they carry. “Vibration testing is an essential part of space flight,” adds the NASA Loads and Dynamics team. As missions extend further into the solar system and rockets become larger and more powerful, tests must recreate harsher conditions. The mechanical element for testing is significant. The SLS blasts off for the Artermis I test mission Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky) “These tests are broadly described by the three categories of their environment – mechanical which is vibration, thermal vacuum – heat flow in a hard vacuum, and electromagnetic compatibility and communications.” Robustness “The main purpose of spacecraft and space payload testing is to confirm that they will survive the launch and operational environment,” says Ian Horsfall, dynamics group leader at RAL Space, the UK’s space research and technology development agency. “Spacecraft flight hardware must survive and function during and after exposure to these environments to ensure flight safety and mission success.”įortunately, key industry stakeholders are well versed in these requirements, priming spacecraft and their payloads for safe and successful missions through highly advanced and rigorous test methods that span several criteria. “Spacecraft and their payloads are subjected to very harsh environments during flight and operations, including ground transportation, lift-off, ascent, flight abort, space operations, re-entry, and landing,” explain senior members of NASA’s Loads and Dynamics team, based at the Johnson Space Centre in the USA. The ability to guarantee the resilience and reliable operation of a spacecraft and its payloads both during and following a launch atop a rocket is fundamental to the industry. Space launches present aerospace engineers with extreme challenges. While this undoubtedly incredible spectacle took just minutes, many years of work went into ensuring that moment was a success.
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