Following the audit by the Spanish National Accreditation Body (ENAC), concluding several months of work that had begun with the facilities in Madrid being adapted to accommodate the new vibration system and its subsequent commissioning, the Equipment and Certification department’s mechanical testing laboratory is now fully operational. In addition to the LDS V875-440LS shaker with a head expander and 900 x 900 cm slip table, the laboratory has installed a bridge crane which is capable of handling heavy loads and all of the necessary safety measures, such as a separate control room, work platform, controlled and restricted access, etc.
The stringency of these initial tests on equipment and components provided a tough test of the shaker’s capabilities. So, for example, several rail signalling systems were tested for CAF Signalling, SIEMENS Rail and THALES, Bombardier Transportation's on-board unit was qualified and, in the field of aviation, an avionics system for the C-295 aircraft was tested for Airbus Defence and Space. It is also worth noting the mechanical tests on the TESLA-C optical fibre amplifier (OFA) for Gooch & Housego, as part of the ESA ARTES 3.4 programme, ¨Terminal for Small Satellite Application¨.