Herschel Vibration Test
Date: 23 June 2008
Copyright: ESA
This video shows one of the vibration tests of the Herschel spacecraft, performed on the evening of Monday 23 June 2008 as part of the mechanical test campaign.
The spacecraft was shaken vertically along its X-axis in the frequency range 4-100 Hz on an electrodynamic shaker in the ESTEC cleanroom. Starting at 4 Hz (0:31 in this video), the shaker frequency steadily increased to 100 Hz (at 1:51 in this video).
The larger amplitude at the start of the run becomes much smaller as the shaker frequency increases. The clicking sounds are from the test equipment. The deeper resonant sounds are produced by the vibration of the ~7.5m tall spacecraft.
The reflective surface seen above the spacecraft is a protection foil. It prevents the contamination sensitive surface of the telescope mirror from particulate contamination during the vibration runs.