Orbital Minotaur VI - Manual (Page 57)

Minotaur IV • V • VI User’s Guide Section 4.0 – Payload Environment
4.5. Payload Structural Integrity and Environments Verification
The spacecraft must possess sufficient structural characteristics to survive ground handling and flight
load conditions with margin in a manner that assures both safety and mission success.
Sufficient payload testing and/or analysis must be performed to show adequate margin to the
environments and loads specified in Sections 4.1 through 4.4. The payload design should comply with the
testing and design factors of safety as found in MIL-HNBK-340A (ref. MIL-STD-1540B) and NASA GEVS
Rev. A June ’96. The payload organization must provide Orbital with verification via analyses and tests
that the payload can survive these environments prior to payload arrival at the integration facility.
4.6. Thermal and Humidity Environments
The thermal and humidity environment to which the payload may be exposed during vehicle processing
and pad operations are defined in the following sections.
4.6.1. Ground Operations
Upon encapsulation within the fairing and for the remainder of ground operations, the payload
environment will be maintained by a Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Environmental
Control Unit (ECU). The HVAC provides conditioned air to the payload in the PPF after fairing integration.
HVAC is provided during transport, lifting operations, and at the launch pad. The conditioned air enters
the fairing volume at a location forward of the payload, exits aft of the payload and is provided up to the
moment of launch. A diffuser is designed into the air conditioning inlet to reduce impingement velocities
on the payload. Class 10 K (ISO 7) can be provided inside a clean room and at the payload fairing HVAC
inlet on a mission specific basis as an enhanced option.
Fairing inlet conditions are selected by the customer, and are bounded as follows:
a. Dry Bulb Temperature: 13 to 29 °C (55 to 85 °F) controllable to ±5 °C (±10 °F) of setpoint
b. Temperature environment lower limit is 55 °F (12.8 °C) due to the upper stage motor limits.
c. Standard Setpoint = 18.3 °C (65 °F)
d. Dew Point Temperature: 3 to 17 °C (38 to 62 °F)
e. Relative Humidity: determined by drybulb and dew point temperature selections and generally
controlled to within ±15%. Relative humidity is bound by the psychrometric chart and will be
controlled such that the dew point within the fairing is never reached.
f. Nominal Flow: 11.3 m
3
/min (400 cfm)
A diagram of the HVAC system is shown in Figure 4.6.1-1.
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