Engineering topics
Rupp, Timothy
Publications and source records attributed to Rupp, Timothy.
Capture Latch Assembly for the NASA Docking System
Final Paper and not the abstract is attached. a summary of the Design, Development, and Qualification of the Capture Latch Assembly (CLA) for the NASA Docking System Block 1 (NDSB1). The CLA is an integral part of the Soft Capture System (SCS) of the NDSB1, serving the purpose of connecting the mating SCS Rings of two docking vehicles. The paper will present an overview of the function of the CLA and its basic concept of operations, including a summary of the major components of the CLA. The development, qualification, and production of the CLA will then be described. Particular focus will be provided on two major issues that occurred during production and qualification of the CLA. The first issue was failures of the CLA Motor (CLM) during acceptance testing (AT). The failures of the CLM were ultimately determined to be due to design defects and manufacturing errors in the motor commutation sensor assembly. The second issue was failure of the secondary release mechanism, or Contingency Capture Latch Release (CCLR) mechanism during development and qualification testing. The CCLR failures were found to be a result of excess free play in the release mechanism, resulting in wear leading to galling inside the release mechanism. An overview of each failure will be provided, along with a summary of the failure investigation and recovery process. Finally, Lessons Learned from each of the major issues and the overall development of the Capture Latch will be presented.
Multi-Axis Independent Electromechanical Load Control for Docking System Actuation Development and Verification Using dSPACE
The development of highly complex and advanced actuation systems to meet customer demands has accelerated as the use of real-time testing technology expands into multiple markets at Moog. Systems developed for the autonomous docking of human rated spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS), envelope multi-operational characteristics which place unique constraints on an actuation system. Real-time testing hardware has been used as a platform for incremental testing and development for the linear actuation system which controls initial capture and docking for vehicles visiting the ISS. This presentation will outline the role of dSPACE hardware as a platform for rapid control-algorithm prototyping as well as an Electromechanical Actuator (EMA) system dynamic loading simulator, both conducted at Moog to develop the safety critical Linear Actuator System (LAS) of the NASA Docking System (NDS).