Design optimization of stiffened composite panels for damage resistance

The National Aerospace Laborator y NLR in the Netherlands has developed a new generation of Test and Verification Equipment (TVE) for testing of Attitude and Orbit Control Subsystems of spacecraft. Based on a prototype TVE developed for ESA, test equipment has been developed for Matra Marconi Space for AOCS subsyste m and system level testing of the XMM and INTEGRAL scientific satellites. This paper describes the test concept and the architectur e of the XMM test system with its main features, the incremental developmen t and delivery, and experience s obtained during developmen t and use of the system. The described work has also been performed under ESA contract.