Incipient failure detection.

In connection with the preparation for long-range space missions it is highly important to be able to identify potentially failure prone equipment in advance of the launch commitment. Physical phenomena investigated for this purpose include X-ray and gamma radiation, electrical noise, IR and UV radiation, and vibration energy. The technique selected must be capable of detecting the onset and evaluating the progression of conditions that represent basic causes which could lead to failure. As a result of the investigation, techniques based on acoustic energy release were selected as the most promising for incipient failure detection.