Structural Control and Isolation
Overview
The D-Strut describes a proprietary vibration isolation and damping technology. The first application of the D-Strut was isolating low-level vibration disturbances generated by the attitude control reaction wheels from the fine pointing requirements in the Hubble Telescope.
Later, very rigid systems were developed, which were used to replace elements of a truss. These systems provided the same static stiffness as the elements they replaced, but drastically increased the dynamic stiffness while adding as much as 50% damping.
This has been followed with multiple Space applications ranging from protecting satellites and equipment during launch to isolating delicate instruments from vibration during operation.
Later, very rigid systems were developed, which were used to replace elements of a truss. These systems provided the same static stiffness as the elements they replaced, but drastically increased the dynamic stiffness while adding as much as 50% damping.
This has been followed with multiple Space applications ranging from protecting satellites and equipment during launch to isolating delicate instruments from vibration during operation.
