Suppression of Transient Events by Levitation (STABLE): Results From the USML-2 Mission
Microgravity science payloads can be extremely sensitive to vibrations from machinery, acoustics, ventilation, and crew activity. Suppression of Transient Acceleration by Levitation (STABLE) is an active vibration isolation system designed to protect payloads from these disturbances. This paper gives an account of results from the flight demonstration of the STABLE microgravity isolation system, which was developed and successfully flight tested in orbit during USML-2, with the participation of Astronaut Fred Leslie. Following a very brief description of the operational principles, the hardware and software design, and performance criteria, results of the analysis of measured flight data are presented to provide an evaluation of system performance parameters, including acceleration attenuation, assessment of sway space, system power consumption, and other factors critical to the performance of an isolation system. Lessons learned and potential design improvements and evolutions are discussed. Data reduction by Robert Boucher of McDonnell Douglas Aerospace (MDA) was substantially assisted by Kenneth Hrovat of Tal-Cut, Inc., under support from National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Lewis Research Center (LeRC), Cleveland, OH.