Test Interface Box, Spacecraft Checkout Station, INTELSAT VIIIA (805)

Object Details

Summary: Geostationary communications satellites, once launched and in orbit, need to operate for years with high reliability. To achieve such performance, satellites undergo a rigorous process of testing during manufacture to ensure that each spacecraft component and system can withstand the rigors of launch and the extremes of the space environment.; This artifact--a Test Interface Box--is a component of the satellite check-out station for Intelsat VIIIA (805) communications spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin and launched in 1998. The checkout station was a suite of testing devices used to simulate and assess a broad range of spacecraft functions after final assembly. Technicians tested the satellite at the factory and then again at the launch site.; The Test Interface Box was designed to simulate one such function: The load placed on the spacecraft electronics when a pyrotechnic charge was activated. Pyrotechnic charges had a special role in the deployment of satellites once in orbit: They cut the cables that held solars arrays and antennas in place during launch.; This artifact was donated by Lockheed Martin to the Museum in 1998.

Materials: Aluminum, Plastic, Stainless Steel, Steel, Rubber, Brass, Gold, Adhesive, Paint, Synthetic Fabric
Dimensions: 3-D: 57.2 x 44.5 x 18.4cm (22 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 7 1/4 in.)

National Air and Space Museum

GUID (Link to Original Record): http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv9e66074e8-24af-40bd-906d-a7e3e6a25409