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Satellite Camera Isolation System

Isolators were designed and manufactured for a satellite camera sensitive to on-orbit vibration. Seven flight units and one prototype were tested and delivered in the summer of 1999. Three isolators support the camera once in orbit. Each isolator consists of a titanium spring in parallel with viscoelastic material. The mechanical spring, stiff in the tension /compression directions, allows the viscoelastic material to shear in the direction parallel to the camera axis thus providing damping to the system. During launch the isolators are locked and not operating. The spring is soft in the transverse direction to allow the isolators to be locked without damaging the viscoelastic material.

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