Many payloads flown on the space shuttle or to be flown on the International Space Station Alpha (ISSA) are designed to utilize the microgravity acceleration environment available in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO). However, this environment is sometimes far from being in the microgravity regime because of various disturbances ranging from engine firings to astronaut sneezes. NASA has recognized the need to provide the microgravity environment to these payloads by integration of vibration isolation systems. This article will describe some typical microgravity payloads, excitation sources that cause higher than desired accelerations, microgravity measurement procedures and a type of transducer suitable for microgravity measurements developed during the process of designing an isolation system.
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