ESA Science & Technology - Simulation of fairing jettison shock

To simulate the mechanical shock generated by the pyrotechnically initiated separation of the launcher fairing, the Mercury Composite Spacecraft with the Launch Vehicle Adapter (LVA) attached are suspended from an overhead crane in the Test Centre at ESA's European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. A Shock Generation Unit (SHOGUN) has been bolted to the bottom of the LVA; the SHOGUN contains a small amount of explosive sandwiched between its LVA interface and a metal band. When the explosive is fired, the sections of the band deform and a mechanical shock is induced in the base of the LVA. Accelerometers mounted at strategic locations on the spacecraft stack measure the effect of the shock.