A Historical Perspective on Dynamics Testing at the Langley Research Center

The history of structural dynamics testing research over the past four decades at the Langley Research Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is reviewed. Beginning in the early sixties, Langley investigated several scale model and full-scale spacecraft including the NIMBUS and various concepts for Apollo and Viking landers. Langley engineers pioneered the use of scaled models to study the dynamics of launch vehicles including Saturn I, Saturn V, and Titan III. In the seventies, work emphasized the Space Shuttle and advanced test and data analysis methods. In the eighties, the possibility of delivering large structures to orbit by the Space Shuttle shifted focus towards understanding the interaction of flexible space structures with attitude control systems. Although Langley has maintained a tradition of laboratory-based research, some flight experiments were supported. This review emphasizes work that, in some way, advanced the state of knowledge at the time.