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Stan Taylor, high-impact test engineer, and Warren Torris, technician, are shown inspecting the shattering effect of a space simulating firing of a 22-inch test gun. The 260-pound aluminum projectile, called a sabot, was ripped apart in the test, which equaled a force of 7,400 G's. A redwood backstop used in the test was impacted to an average depth of two inches. The tests were part of the JPL high-impact program to develop more rugged spacecraft and shock-resistant equipment for lunar and planetary exploration. (From Lab-Oratory, November 1967, p. 5, Shockproofing for Space -- link to full article.)

Today, the Environmental Test Lab provides JPL projects with facilities for vibration and shock testing for all types of spaceflight hardware. The vibration systems use modern computer control systems, and are capable of producing pyrotechnic shock pulse environments, in contrast to the huge compressed air gun and slingshot of the 1960s.. The Lab has been instrumental in the development of "force limited" vibration tests, which have now become common in the NASA community.

For more information about the history of JPL, please contact the JPL Archives.