_med_A_[3Rml_rS/N033 TirnBd_AE_IDa_wer S/N0_3 Figure 11 Figure12 Thedamper usesarotating vanetoforceCV-7300 silicone fluidofchosen viscosity through an adjustable orifice, providing averywiderangeofadjustment upto1400N-cmoftorqueinapackage weighing -0.5kg.Forthismodeldamper, thedamping coefficient wasfoundtovarynonlinearly with needle valvesetting, temperature, direction ofrotation, andwithapplied torque. Typical performance curvesforanengineering modelinter-panel hingedamper arepresented inFigures 11and12. Theengineering modelyokeandhingehardware wasfabricated toflightqualitydrawings (level2)but fabrication andprocess requirements wereheldtoaminimal level1.Theleadengineer wasresponsible fortracking changes madefromthedrawings totheasbuilthardware andensuring thesechanges were incorporated intotheflightdesign. Waiving inspection requirements, material certification processes and allowing minorblemishes andinsignificant defects topassspeeded upfabrication efforts. Material finishes wereallowed todeviate fromflightwherefunction wasnotaffected. Theidentical assembly tooling, handling processes anddeployment system usedfortheengineering modelwasalsotobeused forflight. Assembly ofthedeployment tablesurface proved quitedifficult andtimeconsuming. Thetableswere bolted together loosely andagridpattern wasestablished. Gross leveling wasprogressively accomplished starting withacarpenter's levelandprogressing toamachine toollevel.Atheodolite and heightgaugewasthenemployed tofinishtheleveling process. Afterthetableswerecompletely leveled, theboltsweretightened thatfastened themtogether andtheseams wei'etapedwithKapton tapeto ensure theairbearings wouldtraveloverthejoints.Theinitialdeployment testrevealed thattheair bearings wouldoccasionally hanguponthejoints.Further inspection discovered thatthejointsdidnot quitematchupinheighteventhough adjacent areaswereleveled withintolerance. Theadjustment system onthetablesdidnothaveenough adjustment pointstocorrect thisproblem. Asecond floor surface, commercial floortiling,wasapplied without success. Wethendecided toapply0.64-cm thick aluminum sheeting inapattern thatensured theseamsdidnotmatchupwiththeexisting seams. We thensetupafinergridandshimmed thesheetswhereneeded andrepeated theleveling process. This method wassuccessful andprovided repeatable deployments. Theengineering modelarraydeployment testing started bytryingmanycombinations ofairbearing designandlocation. Useofthreeofthedi-podbearings, inthelocations showninFigures 13and14,was judged tobeoptimal. Anupgrade tothecompressed airsystem inthebuilding wasrequired whenthe airflow through theairbearing pucksproved tobelessthananticipated. Stable andrepeatable deployments werefinallyachieved withanice"W"pattern deployment withallhingepointslocking up within1-2seconds ofeachother.Actualspringtension anddamping ratesonthedampers were measured andtheresults worked backintothekinematic software model. Datafromnon-flight optical encoders ateachhingeline wereacquired through aLabview-based dataacquisition system. The deployment angle-vs-time results wereusedtocorrelate thesoftware model. Atthispoint,wehad achieved ourobjectives andfeltwetrulyunderstood oursystem andwerereadyforthespacecraft CDR andsubsequent fabrication andtestingofflighthardware. 224