Instrumentation for Aerospace & Defense
Aerospace and defense engineers need to prove that hardware survives the environments it will see, then measure how it performs once it is there. That calls for shock and vibration test equipment for qualification, rugged recorders and data acquisition systems for field and flight data, and precision sensors for displacement, force, pressure and temperature on test articles and fielded systems.
The stakes are schedule and mission success. Qualification to MIL-STD-810H, MIL-STD-883 or RTCA DO-160G drives program cost, and a sensor that drifts or a recorder that misses an event can invalidate a test run. Hardware also has to tolerate cryogenic propellants, engine heat, moisture and years of field service.
The aerospace and defense landscape in the Southeast
The Southeast holds a dense network of aerospace and defense test activity. Huntsville, Alabama, where Vaughn Associates is headquartered, is home to Redstone Arsenal and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, along with the contractors and test labs that support missile, aviation and space programs.
Around the region:
- Tennessee: the Arnold Engineering Development Complex runs wind tunnel and propulsion ground testing.
- Mississippi: NASA’s Stennis Space Center tests rocket engines.
- Florida: the Space Coast around Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral supports launch operations.
- Maryland: Naval Air Station Patuxent River anchors naval aviation test and evaluation.
Prime contractors, suppliers and university labs across the territory build and test everything from avionics boxes to rocket motors.
Solutions we provide
For environmental qualification, Emerson Apparatus builds pneumatic and free-fall shock machines, mechanical shakers, and magnesium head expanders and fixtures for electrodynamic shakers. See shock and vibration test equipment. To capture real environments, Instrumented Sensor Technology offers self-contained shock and vibration data recorders for transport, flight and handling studies.
- Data acquisition and analysis: Mars Labs Titan systems scale to hundreds of synchronized channels, and Prosig DATS software adds modal, shock response and noise and vibration analysis. See data acquisition systems.
- Displacement and force: RDP Electrosense LVDTs and SensorData Technologies custom load cells and torque sensors for structural and actuator test rigs.
- Pressure and temperature: Spectre Corp pressure transducers for engine and turbine test stands, and Curtiss-Wright Round Rock aerospace RTDs, including cryogenic sensors for launch vehicles.
- Operator controls: Bokam Engineering solid-state joysticks, grips and pedals for vehicles and unmanned systems.
On the production side, Euro-Tech supports gear and spline inspection and Marposs Tecna leak tests fluid and pneumatic components.
How Vaughn Associates supports aerospace and defense teams
Vaughn Associates is an independent manufacturer’s representative and MANA member. Our Huntsville-based sales engineers have engineering backgrounds in space, missile, aviation and test work, and we cover programs across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic.
- Application review: we help translate a test specification or drawing into the right machine, recorder, sensor range or channel count.
- Quote coordination: we work with each manufacturer’s factory engineers on configuration, documentation and lead times. Customers typically purchase directly from the manufacturer.
- Demos and evaluations: we arrange demonstrations, evaluations or rentals where the manufacturer supports them.
- Follow-through: we stay involved after the order so questions reach the right factory contact quickly.
Tell us about your test program on the For Engineers page, or find the sales engineer for your state on our territories page.
