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| Shuttle Vibration Forces Experiment |
| Payload Bay |
| 327 lbs. |
| Principal Investigator: Terry Scharton, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. |
| Overview |
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The Shuttle Vibration Forces experiment will measure the dynamic forces between Discovery and a canister attached to the orbiter's payload bay wall. The experiment is designed to validate a new vibration testing method that, if proven, will enable NASA to fly more sophisticated equipment on space shuttle missions. The vibration method that SVF will test has been used on other NASA flight programs. It involves limiting the force of the vibration test to the force expected during flight. Commercial triaxial force transducers and three wideband stand-alone acceleration measurement devices built by the Johnson Space Center will measure the dynamic forces. The SVF payload will be carried in a standard getaway special canister mounted on the sidewall of the payload bay. The force transducers have been incorporated into four custom brackets, which replace the brackets normally used to attach GAS canisters to the sidewall GAS adapter beam. The SVF payload is self-supporting (the payload is battery powered and the data is recorded within the payload) and does not require any crew interface. The payload will be activated automatically by orbiter lift-off vibrations and will operate for approximately 240 seconds. STS-96 is the second flight of the SVF experiment. The experiment's first flight was STS-90 in April 1998. |
| History/Background |
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The powerful rocket engines used on the shuttle and other launch vehicles generate a great deal of noise and vibration at liftoff. All shuttle equipment must be designed for this severe environment, and most of the cargo for shuttle missions is subjected to extreme vibration testing to ensure that it will survive. Because conventional vibration testing methods have not changed substantially in 50 years, they are not well suited for lightweight and sometimes delicate aerospace equipment. Equipment, which could survive space flight, often fails during vibration testing, wasting effort and money because the equipment must be redesigned and retested. |
| Benefits |
| The experiment is designed to validate a new vibration testing method that, if proven, will enable NASA to fly more sophisticated equipment on space shuttle missions. |
Editorial/Technical Comments: ShuttlePresskit
