Noise Environment Reduction Foam Spheres in Space

The advent of lightweight fairings for new spacecraft and the increased thrust of new launch vehicles have intensified the need for better techniques for predicting and for reducing the low frequency noise environment of spacecraft at lift-off. This paper presents a VAPEPS (VibroAcoustic Payload Environment Prediction System) parametrical analysis of the noise reduction of spacecraft fairings and explores a novel technique for increasing the low frequency noise reduction of lightweight fairings by approximately 10 dB.