1936. Mass Properties Measurement in Japan
$20.00
SAWE Members get a $200 store credit each year.*
*Store credit coupon available at checkout, click the button in your shopping cart to apply the coupon.
Not applicable to SAWE textbooks and current conference technical papers.
Paper
Abstract
The authors have recently installed a mass properties instrument conservatively capable of measuring satellites weighing more than 13,200 pounds at the Japanese Space Center (NASDA). During the installation, we were able to view some of the current mass properties equipment at various installations in Japan and to also gain information on the scope of spacecraft and rocket manufacturing in Japan. This paper summarizes some of the features of the new mass properties measuring machine (probably the largest gas bearing mass properties instrument in the world), and provides a detailed error analysis of moment of inertia measurement using an inverted torsion pendulum. Finally, we give our observations regarding some of the myths about the Japanese people and what it is like for an American engineer to work at a Japanese space center.
