Multifaceted Development of Vibration and Shock Testing Capabilities for In-House Spaceflight Hardware Qualification and External Stakeholder Support

Abstract

For spacecraft hardware, performing environmental qualification testing is of paramount importance as such tests ensure that they can survive harzardous vibration and shock loads experienced in their lifetime due to launch and deployment stresses. TigerSats, an ongoing Princeton University undergraduate CubeSat program, has a vested interest in developing the lab's vibration and shock testing capabilities across a wide range of budgets and test article sizes. This report details such development of in-house dynamic test qualification capabilities for various test articles as well as the establishment of partnerships with third party stakeholders. In this project, a novel TigerSats solar panel is subject to random vibration testing to check the functionality of a LabWorks electrodynamic shaker and develop operational procedures for future use. The Princeton Rocketry Club's orbital payload was also subject to vibration testing on the same equipment. Lastly, a mission-critical component of the Rutgers University SPICEsat was vibration tested in collaboration with Nu Laboratories. All of these tests were conducted according to NASA- or industry-established vibration environment specifications, and the test articles' survivals were predicted by theory. Adapters were designed and manufactured to perform testing. The verification of inherited design, modification of said design, and physical assembly of the TigerSats shock hammer fixture's primary structure were successful. Holistically, these results demonstrated the ability for TigerSats to develop in-house vibration and shock tests for various test scopes while satisfying interests of external stakeholders.