The Air Force needed to reduce vibration loads on satellites during launch. Most launch vehicles involve solid-fuel booster engines. These engines require large resonant burns that give a harsher ride to small, delicate military and commercial satellites. CSA Engineering developed, tested, and advanced to flight status the new technology of whole-spacecraft vibration isolation. This results in immediate increases to mission payload or fuel while reducing the risk of vibration damage to the spacecraft and payload instruments during ascent to orbit.
Finished parts are stress free and require no final reshaping or milling.
Major customers, in addition to the Air Force include the Army, Department of Energy, General Electric, Boeing, and Pratt and Whitney. This would permit prediction of catastrophic mechanical failure and open the door to on-condition, as opposed to periodic, maintenance. The technique indicates progressive damage in rotating machinery from vibration patterns, and predicts potential mechanical failure. This technology can save lives and money. Savings could reach hundreds of millions of dollars each year.