Eliminating the Need for Payload-specific Coupled Loads Analysis

Through a project recently completed for Operationally Responsive Space (ORS), we have demonstrated the feasibility of a more efficient structural verification process for small satellites. This new process eliminates the need for payload-specific coupled loads analysis (CLA) and simplifies structural testing while not increasing mission risk. The process entails • Derivation of appropriate physical constraints for the satellite (launch-vehicle payload) or the satellite’s payload, including mass, center of gravity, envelope, and natural frequencies. ;Up-front, rapid performance of multiple cycles of CLA for one or more launch vehicles and selected combinations of the payload’s variable physical properties within the derived constraints. (We refer to this analysis as “variational CLAs.”) ;Derivation of equivalent, single-axis load cases that are at least as severe as the max/min results of the variational CLAs, for design and sine-burst testing of the payload’s primary structure. This process can be applied to multiple launch vehicles and variable combinations of small satellites in rideshare missions to provide flexibility, enable rapid integration, and accommodate late manifest changes. The process also can be extended to provide a loads envelope for spacecraft equipment or to reduce risk for large spacecraft. The benefits of this process are simplified structural verification and reduced programmatic risk during hardware development