Launching Into Orbit With Interface
Interface supplies force measurement solutions and services to help the world’s largest aerospace organizations in the design and test of space vehicles and ground equipment. We pride ourselves on the accuracy and reliability of our products, and it is our key differentiator in serving highly regulated markets with zero room for error.
Working with NASA is a pinnacle in providing advanced test and measurement solutions for use in vehicle designs used for space exploration. We have the privilege of engaging with this highly respected space agency and we wrote a case study on the experience. This blog provides an abbreviated version of the study.
Challenge
NASA’s latest efforts have been centered around human deep space exploration, opening new possibilities for scientific missions to places like the Moon, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter. Getting a rocket and its payload beyond earth’s orbit is no easy task. There’s nothing more important than structural integrity, and achieving it on a rocket is incredibly difficult. Faced with these challenges, NASA turned to Interface to aid in the development of its Space Launch System (SLS) to replace its Saturn 5 rocket.
Interface Solution
Due to the massive size of the rocket, Interface provided NASA with two different models of custom load cells that ranged to accurately measure the forces the SLS will experience during its use. Interface also fulfilled NASA’s extremely high accuracy requirements for force measurements by using finite element analysis to revitalize its existing 2000 series load cell design.
Results
Multiple custom Interface load cells were attached to hydraulic cylinders at different points along the test stand to measure the load produced by each cylinder within 0.05 percent. With these custom high precision load cells, engineers were able to evaluate loads applied to different areas of the rocket structure, allowing them to accurately verify the structural performance under simulated launch conditions.
For more information on how Interface helps to solve aerospace challenges and provide advancement in test and measurement, go to www.interfaceforce.com/solutions/aerospace.
Read the full Interface NASA Case Study here: Interface Case Study for NASA Solutions
