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CSA Engineering provides innovative solutions to meet customers' needs in vibration, precision motion and noise control. Their systems approach to engineering development is backed by expertise in a range of technical specialties. In addition to its Mountain View, CA headquarters, CSA Engineering operates offices in Albuquerque, NM, and Lacey's Spring, Alabama.
The Air Force Research Laboratory Soft Ride for Small Satellites vibration isolation team, in partnership with CSA Engineering, designed, fabricated, component tested, whole-spacecraft tested, delivered flight hardware, and successfully flew the world's first whole-spacecraft vibration isolation system on an Orbital Sciences' Taurus launch vehicle. This isolation system was the first whole-spacecraft isolation system flown on a spacecraft. The whole-spacecraft isolation system successfully flew on NRL's Geosat Follow-On (GFO) spacecraft, built by Ball Aerospace, on 10 Feb 1998 on an orbital mission flown out of Vandenberg AFB, CA to study physical oceanography.
With the flight demonstration of this innovative SBIR technology being successful the team is now actively involved in transitioning whole-spacecraft vibration isolation to other missions and users. For example, because of the success of the GFO mission, the National Reconnaissance Organization's (NRO) used this system on their STEX spacecraft that was launched in Nov l999. The isolation system reduced the structural-borne vibrations at the spacecraft by a factor of 3 to 5 while meeting all the LV and spacecraft requirements. The Mission Manager of the STEX mission estimates that this system saved the NRO $20M in re-design and schedule costs. By successfully transitioning whole-spacecraft launch vibration isolation technology, the vibration isolation team provided a technology breakthrough to the Air Force. This technology will enhance existing Air Force capability and greatly reduce costs for current expendable launch vehicles, as well as for future expendable and reusable launch vehicles. To date, this system has protected seven satellites on six launch missions. The team is currently performing feasibility analysis for the MilSatCom Program Office focused on EELV missions. The technology is also being base-lined into the Peacekeeper launch vehicle when it will be converted into a space asset.
Conor Johnson
CSA Engineering
2565 Leghorn Street
Mountain View, CA 94043-1613
Phone: (650) 210-9000
Website: http://www.csaengineering.com/
Email: cjohnson@csaengineering.com
