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A low cost imaging displacement measurement system for spacecraft thermal vacuum testingA low cost imaging displacement technique suitable for use in thermal vacuum testing was built and tested during thermal vacuum testing of the space infrared telescope facility (SIRTF, later renamed Spitzer infrared telescope facility). The problem was to measure the relative displacement of different portions of the spacecraft due to thermal expansion or contraction. Standard displacement measuring instrumentation could not be used because of the widely varying temperatures on the spacecraft and for fear of invalidating the thermal vacuum testing. The imaging system was conceived, designed, purchased, and installed in approximately 2 months at very low cost. The system performed beyond expectations proving that sub millimeter displacements could be measured from over 2 meters away. Using commercial optics it was possible to make displacement measurements down to 10 (mu)m. An automated image processing tool was used to process the data, which not only speeded up data reduction, but showed that velocities and accelerations could also be measured. Details of the design and capabilities of the system are discussed along with the results of the test on the observatory. Several images from the actual test are presented.
Document ID
20060043780
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Conference Paper
External Source(s)
Authors
Dempsey, Brian
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
January 9, 2006
Meeting Information
Meeting: 44th AIAA Aerospace Meeting and Exhibit
Location: Reno, NV
Country: United States
Start Date: January 9, 2006
End Date: January 12, 2006
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
thermal vacuum
imaging displacement
thermal vacuum testing

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