Dynamic Qualification Tests on a Spacecraft Bus and Antenna Structure.

Abstract

Nowadays, the standard dynamic qualification of spacecraft is still based on single-axis shaker tests, replacing the actual multi-axis transient loads by sinusoidal sweep excitation. The consideration of several indadequacies of single-axis vibration tests has led to multi-axis transient test methods where the expected flight loads are taken from prior launches or from coupled load analysis and are simulated by multi-axis test facilities. With the purpose of investigating multi-axis transient testing and comparing it with conventional single-axis sine vibration testing, a joint project between the Canadian Space Agency CSA and the German Aerospace Research Establishment DLR has been defined. This report describes the performance of dynamic qualification tests on an antenna structure coupled to a simplified spacecraft bus. The structures are exposed to a typical multi-axis transient load case and single axis sine sweep excitation in the three longitudinal axes. Test results are described and discussed. Topics for further test data evaluation and comparison of test methods are pointed out.