Presentation to International Space University Students on g-LIMIT and STABLE-ATD Projects and Related Microgravity Vibration Isolation Topics

Vibration isolation is a necessity in the development of science in space and especially those experiments destined for operation on the International Space Station (ISS). The premise of microgravity scientific research is that in space, disturbances are minimized and experiments can be conducted in the absence of gravity. Although microgravity conditions exist in space, disturbances are still present in various forms and can be detrimental to the success of a microgravity experiment. Due to the plethora of disturbances and the various types that will occur on the space station, the microgravity community has elected to incorporate various means of isolating scientific payloads from these unwanted vibrations. Designing these vibration isolators is a crucial task to achieve true microgravity science. Since conventional methods of isolating payloads can achieve only limited isolation, new technologies are being developed to achieve the goal of designing a generic vibration isolation system. One such system being developed for the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) is called g-LIMIT which stands for Glovebox Integrated Microgravity Isolation Technology. The g-LIMIT system is a miniaturized active vibration isolator for glovebox experiments. Although the system is initially developed for glovebox experiments, the g-LIMIT technology is designed to be upwardly scaleable to provide isolation for a broad range of users. The g-LIMIT system is scheduled to be flown on the UF-2 mission in August of the year 2000 and will be tested shortly thereafter. Once the system has been fully qualified, the hardware will become available for other researchers and will provide a platform upon which the goal of microgravity science can be achieved.