739. Mass Property Measurements at Extremely Low Angular Rates
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Paper
Abstract
The trend toward larger spin stabilized spacecraft spinning at lower speeds prompted a company funded study program to develop improved methods for measuring mass properties at extremely low angular rates. The culmination of this effort was the design and fabrication of a facility with a capacity up to 10,000 pounds and an operating speed range of 2 to 120 rpm and capable of making moment of inertia measurements concurrent with balancing operations. Separation of critical functions in the machine has resulted in a semi-portable hard bearing machine w i t h a wide range of adjustable sensitivities t h a t may be matched to individual test articles for optimum performance. A method of gravitationally reacting unbalance forces w i t h accurately located precision weights has been employed to eliminate system performance dependence upon precise electrical calibration.