- Overview of Structural Requirements and
Verification
Structural functions and requirements, effects of
the space environment, categories of structures,
how launch affects things structurally, launch
environments, understanding verification,
applicable standards
- Verification Planning
The building-blocks approach to verification,
verification methods and logic, process control
and inspection, protoflight vs. qualification
testing, types of tests, how the verification differs
for small and large flight structures
- Review of Mechanics
Load and displacement, static equilibrium, the
equation of motion, modes of vibration, stress and
strain, understanding material variation, the
benefits of ductility, thermoelastic effects,
mechanics of composite materials
- Stress Analysis: Assessing Structural Integrity
What it means to assess structural integrity, the
process for verifying structural integrity, the
margin of safety, establishing the limit load,
establishing the allowable load, verifying
structural integrity is never based on analysis
alone, an effective process for strength analysis,
common modes of failure, case histories
- Assessing Buckling
Forms of buckling, elastic column buckling,
inelastic buckling, accounting for misalignment
- Special Considerations for Materials and
Threaded Fasteners
Material selection, corrosion, dimensions and
tolerances, establishing preload in a bolted joint,
maintaining preload with an effective locking
feature, friction, the importance of standardization
- Fatigue, Fracture Mechanics, and Fracture
Control
Fatigue, fracture mechanics, elements of fracture
control, satisfying NASA's requirements for
fracture control (Shuttle payloads)
- Designing an Effective Test
Designing a test, boundary conditions, key
differences between a qualification test and an
acceptance or proof test, success criteria and
effective instrumentation, accelerometers, strain
gages, displacement gages, preparing to interpret
test data
- Testing on an Electrodynamic Shaker
Test configuration, sine-sweep testing, sine-burst
testing, random vibration testing, notching and
force limiting
- Verification for Large Flight Structures
Special considerations for large flight structures,
verification approach, coupled loads analysis,
modal surveys, centrifuge testing, static loads
testing, acoustic testing
- Structural Verification for Ground Support
Equipment
Design priorities and philosophy for mechanical
GSE, references for design and test, typical criteria
for design and test, watching out for potential
instability, case histories
- Documenting and Presenting Structural
Verification
Guidelines for effective documentation and
communication, putting yourself in your
customer's shoes, excerpts from sample
documents, test plans and test design reviews, test
reports
Tom Sarafin has worked full time in the space industry since 1979. He spent over 13 years at Martin Marietta
Astronautics, where he contributed to and led activities in structural analysis, design, and test, mostly for large
spacecraft. He has consulted for Space Imaging, DigitalGlobe, Lockheed Martin, and
other companies. He has helped the United States Air Force Academy design, develop, and test a series of small
satellites and has been an advisor to DARPA. He is the editor and principal author of Spacecraft Structures and
Mechanisms: From Concept to Launch and is a contributing author to Space Mission Analysis and Design (all three
editions). Since 1995, he has taught over 100 courses to more than 2400 engineers and managers in the space
industry.
