Satellite testing at the UK National Satellite Test Facility

Project at a glance

• Customer: RAL Space, National Satellite Test Facility (NSTF)
• Location: Oxfordshire, UK
• Applications: Space, Aerospace
• Products used: DTAS-hyper12; DATS software

Background

The National Satellite Test Facility (NSTF) is a UK facility for environmentally testing complete satellites and large sub-assemblies. Operated by RAL Space in Oxfordshire, it brings together the UK's largest single combined facilities for vibration, EMC and antenna range, acoustic, mass property and thermal testing.

The challenge

NSTF is designed to test satellite hardware with payloads of up to 7 tonnes, fully replicating the conditions and severity of a launch. A pyro-shock facility also simulates a satellite's separation from its launch vehicle adapter. Every test depends on a high-speed, multi-channel data acquisition system that can capture hundreds of channels reliably, in more than one location.

The solution

Following an international competitive tender involving several specialist companies, NSTF selected a 512-channel Prosig system. It is made up of two 256-channel sub-systems, each with four DATS-hyper12 chassis, so the two racks can be used together or deployed in different locations as required.

The 24-bit acquisition channels accept accelerometer, microphone and voltage inputs, with both IEPE and TEDS support. Each DATS-hyper12 rack is stand-alone, with its own controller and data storage, giving an overall acquisition and storage rate in excess of 100 kHz. Multiple units synchronise to a common clock signal, so they act as a single, high channel-count system.

The results

• 512 synchronised channels across two independent racks
• Flexible deployment, with racks used together or in separate test areas
• Data delivered in industry-standard file formats for easy export to the specialist analysis and simulation packages used by different customers
• A modular system that can be configured for a wide range of complex satellite test scenarios

System configuration

• 2 x 256-channel sub-systems
• 8 x DATS-hyper12 rack-mount chassis
• 24-bit acquisition with IEPE and TEDS support
• Accelerometer, microphone and voltage inputs

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