In the Rocket and Space Corporation Energia named after S.P. Korolev (part of the State Corporation “Roscosmos”), acoustic tests of the lander of the automatic interplanetary station “Luna-25”, created within the framework of the “Luna-Glob” project, were carried out for the study and practical use of the natural satellite of the Earth and circumlunar space. The tests were carried out by order of the S.A. Lavochkin (part of Roskosmos), the developer of this spacecraft.
In a special acoustic chamber, the device was exposed to sound waves in a wide frequency range. A similar wave effect will act on the spacecraft during the launch and flight of the launch vehicle.
“Strength tests consist in the acoustic loading of the vehicle, that is, it is subjected to the sound level to which it will be exposed during launch into Earth’s orbit,” says Mikhail Semyonov, head of the center for experimental development of full-size products and their components at RSC Energia. – The acoustic chamber allows you to achieve a sound level of 160 decibels. We were the first in our country to carry out such acoustic tests, focusing on international practice. “
Through the holes in the ceiling of the chamber, shaped like acoustic horns, the sound creates vibrational waves that affect the spacecraft installed inside the chamber. From the sensors located on the surface of the “Luna-25” there are a lot of wires to control stations, which register the strength of the effect of sound vibrations on the apparatus and their consequences. In the adjacent room, engineers are closely monitoring how the structures of the interplanetary station receive sonic boom.
The acoustic chamber is installed on a separate foundation, thereby separating it from the rest of the building, and the thickness of its walls is half a meter of special concrete, which makes it possible to test different acoustic spectra without affecting the surrounding space. The dimensions of the chamber allow testing various types of space technology. Practically all RSC Energia products are tested here with sound. After a series of tests, the engineers of NPO Lavochkin conducted a complete visual inspection of the interplanetary vehicle. Luna-25 has successfully overcome these loads.
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The Luna-25 spacecraft, created as part of the Luna-Glob project of NPO Lavochkin, is a small demonstration landing station for testing basic soft landing technologies in the circumpolar region and conducting contact studies of the Moon’s South Pole.
The implementation of the Luna-Globe space expedition is an important step in the exploration of outer space, it will allow us to rise to a qualitatively new level of lunar exploration and from a different angle to look at the prospects for the development of the planets of the solar system, understand the mechanisms of planetary origin, the appearance of water and, consequently , life on earth. The launch is scheduled for October-November 2021 from the Vostochny cosmodrome.