How spacecraft survive the violent forces of a rocket launch
In short: This video shows the BepiColombo stack undergoing vertical-axis vibration testing at ESA's ESTEC centre. It demonstrates how the spacecraft is prepared to withstand the intense mechanical stresses encountered during a liftoff.
The BepiColombo stack, standing roughly six metres high, consists of the sunshield protecting the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter, the Mercury Planetary Orbiter, and the Mercury Transfer Module. This module is responsible for delivering the two scientific satellites into Mercury's orbit.
To ensure structural integrity, the spacecraft underwent a 2.5 minute vibration test at the European Space Agency's research and technology centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. During this test, the stack was subjected to frequencies ranging from 3 Hz to 100 Hz, simulating the conditions expected during its 2015 launch on an Ariane 5 vehicle.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: BepiColombo vertical vibration test
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