Introduction

Abstract

The various mechanical loads are not all equally important and depend on the type of the mechanical structure: i.e. does it concern a primary structure, the spacecraft structure or other secondary structures (such as solar panels, antennas, instruments and electronic boxes). Requirements are specified to cover loads encountered by handling, testing, during the launch phase and operations in transfer and final orbit, such as Sach (Environmental Testing, an Approach to More Efficiency, ESA SP-289, pages 15–19, 1988):

• natural frequencies

• steady-state (semi-static) acceleration

• sine excitation

• random excitation

• acoustic noise

• transient loads

• shock loads

• temperatures