Qualification test campaign of RFA one fairing engineering model

Abstract

The fairing is an important element of the rocket as it protects the payload from the external environment during the most aggressive phases of the flight. A test campaign was developed with the aim of qualifying the fairing structure of the RFA One. This test is intended to simulate the quasi-static loads of the most critical phase during flight. A FEA model was developed to identify the most critical phase of flight and to identify the quasi-static reactions that replicate the flight loads. Based on these reactions, the loads and test levels were defined. The test results were compared with the FEA data to correlate and improve the model. The static test was successfully performed at acceptance and qualification Level 2. The load and strain results indicate that the DLL was achieved and exceeded by a factor of 1.11, while the fairing maintained its functionality and key performance. This paper presents the most relevant results of the test, discusses the results compared with the FEA model and summarizes some lessons drawn from the test campaign.