Tests for a whole-spacecraft vibration isolation platform using a magnetorheological damper

In order to reduce all kinds of vibration and impact load exerted on a satellite and coming from its carrier rocket, here, a new semi-active whole-spacecraft vibration isolation (WSVI) platform was presented. In the WSVI platform, the magneto-rheological (MR) damping technique was adopted and utilized. The proposed WSVIP and the satellite model were designed and manufactured, and then the WSVI system was assembled. The tests of WSVI were conducted. Furthermore, the isolation performances of the WSVI system, a conventional MR damper vibration isolation platform and a conical adapter were evaluated and compared. The results showed that the passive isolation effect of the WSVI system is significantly better than that of the conical adapter; high-frequency decoupled MR dampers in the WSVI system can help the vibration isolation platform to reduce high frequency transmission rate and improve high frequency vibration isolation performance.