March 1, 2006

CSA Engineering was presented the 2006 Smart Structures Product Implementation Award for the SoftRide Launch Load Alleviation System at SPIE’s Smart Structures and Materials – NDE Conference in San Diego.

CSA has pioneered the design, development, fabrication, and flight of whole-spacecraft vibration isolation systems to protect delicate satellites from the rough ride into orbit. The system consists of unique combinations of flexures and viscoelastic materials tailored to reduce the broadband dynamic and shock loads passed to the spacecraft. They are installed between the launch vehicle and the spacecraft and attenuate structure-borne launch loads imparted to the spacecraft.

Conor Johnson, President and Principal Engineer at CSA Engineering said, “We are very pleased with this recognition. The SoftRide systems are providing spacecraft a much reduced dynamic environment during launch and that equates to reduced cost of launch and greater reliability of operation on orbit.”