Wheel Module Vibration Testing

The wheel must function after being subjected to launch vibrations. The video below shows that the wheel module doesn’t flex excessively when it is shaken as it will be shaken during launch.

If MoonRanger’s wheel module exceeds limits of displacement or stress during its vibration testing, then it won’t be permitted to fly.

The module’s design minimized its mass and maximized its stiffness with the ambition of surviving vibration testing, but test results are what matter — not design and analysis.

The wheel module is bolted to a vertical vibration table that shakes it up and down. Accelerometers are attached and wired for recording accelerations at differing locations on the assembly. Data from the accelerometers during the tests determines whether the flexures are acceptable or unacceptable.