Space Rated Shock Absorbers

[fissou11]

Hi there,<br />Anyone knows about space rated shock absorber devices (manufacturers and suppliers)<br />

 

[mlorrey]

Well, what would be nice is some sort of online directory of space-rated products and their manufacturers, specs and contact info. If anybody knows of such a thing, please post a link.

 

[vogon13]

Space rated may not be specific enough.<br /><br />Going 'four wheeling' on Mercury will be a little different from doing the same on Titania.<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[tomnackid]

Do you mean actual devices to absorb an impact or do you mean automotive shock absorbers which are actually "oscillation dampers" not shock absorbers?<br /><br />The Apollo LM used crushable aluminum honeycomb in its four legs to absorb the impact of landing. Obviously this is a "single use" system. I would look into the US and Russian docking adaptors to see if they use any off the shelf hardware for impact attenuation. Another possibility--just off the top of my head--is Naval aircraft landing gear. Because of carrier landings Navy plane have the most robust landing gear. In high performance aircraft they are subjected to high altitudes and extremes of temperature. Just an idea.

 

[mlorrey]

Tomnackid is right there. I've seen the F-18 getting its landing gear tested back during its development program. They hoisted it up more than 30 feet repeatedly and just dropped it. <br /><br />Auto shocks do absorb some shocks. The seals inside have small valve ports that allow a small amount of gas to travel from one side to the other at a time, proportional to pressure. This dampens occilations while the springs absorb most of the shocks, but they are usable for lighter loads. Building shock systems that are absorbers within springs would give you total functionality.