Tailoring dynamic qualification tests for interplanetary spacecraft

Abstract

It is pointed out that the word 'tailoring' has become quite popular in the past few years. Thus, two recently revised environmental test documents make frequent mention of test tailoring. 'Tailoring' is defined by MIL STD 810D (Environmental Test Methods and Engineering Guidelines). The word refers to 'the process of choosing or altering test procedures, conditions, values, tolerances, measures of failure, etc., to simulate or exaggerate the effects of one or more forcing functions to which an item will be subjected during its life cycle...'. This paper is concerned with requirement level test tailoring. Attention is given to examples of dynamic qualification test tailoring for an interplanetary spacecraft program. These examples are to provide ideas for test tailoring which can be applied to other space flight programs.