Design and Analysis of a Keel Latch for Use on the Hubble Space Telescope

This paper will be divided into two parts. The first part will deal with the mechanical design of the keel latch. The second part will be the stress analysis of the keel latch. The first part will present: (1) background information; (2) mechanical design requirements; (3) some of the initial design considerations; (4) the design considerations that led to the selection of the final design; (5) the mechanics of the final design; (6) testing that has been and will be accomplished to verify that design requirements have been met; and (7) future tests.