Calculation of response spectra from incomplete shock time histories

Missiles and space launch vehicles are subjected to extreme dynamic loads in the form of short duration vibration transients, or shocks. Information on the severity of these shocks comes primarily from accelerometers mounted in various locations on the airframe structure. However, phenomena related to the shock events also interrupts the radio telemetry that transmits the data to the ground. This paper explores mitigation techniques for the calculation of response spectra from these incomplete shock time histories. Additionally, an empirical study of the error from the Shock Response Spectra (SRSs) calculated from incomplete time histories is presented. It is concluded that any time history that drops out before 20% of its action time is practically unusable. For particular families of shock events, increasing the margin above that typically added can account for any residual error.