This post is a work-in-progress… Combined Ascent Loads for Launch Vehicle Analysis Equivalent Axial & Line Loads for Launch Vehicles Launch Vehicle and Spacecraft Primary Structure Response to High Frequency Shock and Vibration – Tom Irvine
A spacecraft at launch is subjected to a harsh acoustic and vibration environment resulting from the passage of acoustic energy, created during the liftoff of a launch vehicle, through the vehicle’s payload fairing. In order to ensure the mission success of the spacecraft it is… Read more
Introduction Spacecraft must withstand vibration from pre-launch transportation and from powered flight. The spacecraft is not powered during these events. In addition, a spacecraft must withstand “microvibration” or “jitter” from its own moving parts once it reaches orbit and becomes operational. This vibration is… Read more
A colleague recently wrote to me regarding the merits of using statistical energy analysis to predict the vibration levels in a NASA launch vehicle. Here is my reply: I use “old-school” empirical scaling techniques. These work reasonably well for deriving component-level maximum predicted environments. I… Read more
The Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) is a two-story structure used by NASA to support the Space Shuttle stack during its transportation from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. It also serves as the vehicle’s launch platform. A… Read more
Preliminary notes for acoustic waves: c = speed of sound f = frequency k = wavenumber lambda = wavelength r = radius wavelength is equal to the speed of sound divided by frequency lambda = c / f wavenumber is equal to two pi divided… Read more
Here are some links for libraries of downloadable papers: http://www.science.gov http://ntrs.nasa.gov/?method=aboutntrs http://www3.alcatel-lucent.com/bstj/ – Tom Irvine
I posted a newsletter at: http://www.vibrationdata.com/Newsletters/March2012_NL.pdf The topics are: James Webb Space Telescope Isolation The Prandtl-Glauert Singularity Seneca Guns Loudest Stadium Crowd Please also see my profile at: http://www.nasa.gov/offices/nesc/academy/Tom_Irvine_bio.html Tom Irvine
Launch vehicle avionics components must be designed and tested to withstand random vibration environments. These environments are often derived from flight accelerometer data of previous vehicles. This data tends to be nonstationary as shown in the figure above. The typical method for post-processing is to… Read more
Here are links, with an emphasis on aerospace careers. Huntsville, Alabama http://www.huntsvillealabamausa.com/new_exp/crp/companies/alphabetical_list.html http://www.huntsvillespaceprofessionals.com/ http://nasajobs.nasa.gov/jobs/msfc.htm http://www.asmartplace.com/getsmart/work_findajob.html http://www.al.com/jobs/ Elsewhere http://www.usajobs.gov/ https://jobs-orbital.icims.com/jobs/intro?hashed=0 http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/pages/Careers.shtml http://www.aerojet.com/careers/ http://www.jhuapl.edu/employment/default.asp http://www.ata-engineering.com/careers http://www.spacex.com/careers.php http://www.blueorigin.com/careers/careers.html http://www.sdl.usu.edu/employment/ www.navyjobs.com http://www.aerospacetestingalliance.com/ Tom Irvine