Experience
Proven Results Our Clients Can Trust
With over 60 years of combined engineering experience in spacecraft acoustic testing, we have provided accurate and reliable results since 1999. Our long-term clients include manufacturers like Orbital, Ball, ITT, Sandia, and JPL, while our projects include the NASA Mars Rover, Deep Impact, Orion, Dragon and Cloudsat. Our manufacturers create spacecraft for customers including DOD, commercial, and other government uses.
| MSI-DFAT® Qualified Launch Vehicles:
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Ariane
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Atlas
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Delta
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Falcon 9
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H-II
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Minotaur
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Pegasus
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Proton
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Sea/Land Launch
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SLS
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Soyuz
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Taurus
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Titan
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Zenit
| MSI-DFAT Team:
Matthew Polk
Graduate of the Johns Hopkins University, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy (’71).
Co-founded Polk Audio in 1972 and served as Chairman and head of product development until the company was sold in 2006.
Co-owner of MSI DFAT Services, LLC and responsible for design of ultra-high acoustic output loudspeakers for DFAT systems. Mr. Polk holds more than 20 patents on loudspeakers and related technologies.
Dr. Alessandro ‘Alex’ Carrella
Alessandro ‘Alex’ Carrella has a degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Univeristy of Naples (Italy) and was awarded a PhD in Structural Dynamics at the ISVR (University of Southampton, UK). He was a lecturer in Structural Dynamic at the Dept of Aerospace at the University of Bristol. From 2011 to 2020 Alex worked in different roles to develop testing solutions for the aerospace industry at LMS (now Siemens) in Leuven (Belgium). He has become a referent point for the Space Industry for vibration and acoustic testing. Alex has been a leading figure in advancing DFAT practices is an active member of the space testing community. He then spent 14 months at Patria as Sales Country Manager for USA . Alex has joined MSI-DFAT to lead our international operations, with base in Belgium, to further expand the company’s capability and market presence.
Wes Mayne
Wes Mayne III has worked in the area of test system development and testing for almost 35 years. He has worked on large aerospace acoustic test facilities in the US, India, Europe, the Pacific Rim, and South America, in both technical roles, overall project management, and business development. He has also worked on the development of additional types of test systems such as automotive, large centrifuges, rocket engine test stands, underwater acoustic systems, and others. Wes has supported DFAT testing and development since he joined MSI at the end of 2016.
Dr. Marcos A. Underwood
MSI-DFAT Chief Scientist, has a Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, on control and communication systems, and a Masters in Mathematics, both from the University of California in Los Angeles. He also has a Masters in Structural Engineering from San Jose State University, with an emphasis on Structural Seismic Engineering. His Bachelors, in Mathematics and Physics, is from the California State University in Los Angeles. Dr. Underwood worked with Philco-Ford Aeronutronic, Rockwell International Space Division, and Hughes Helicopters, early in his career, developing the use of digital vibration and acoustics control and analysis systems. Later, he also worked with SD, GenRad, STI, and again with SD as their systems architect, chief engineer, and chief scientist over the years. During both phases, he developed some of the fundamental digital technology now used for vibration and acoustic control and analysis. He has been involved in the use, design, and development of digital control and analysis systems for vibration and acoustics for over 48 years and holds several key patents in the field. He has also authored many publications, an author of the Shock and Vibration Handbook, is a Fellow of the IEST, and the chair of the recommended practices IEST-RP-DTE 022 working group committee on Multi-Shaker Testing and control.
Robert Goldstein
Founded Maryland Sound in 1966. Created many of the products utilized in the concert sound industry today.
Established logistics procedures for mobilizing and deploying very large sound systems reliably and in extremely compressed time frames.
Founded MSI DFAT Services LLC as a stand alone company in 2016
Alan Merrick
Alan Merrick is a graduate of San Diego State University of California in Mechanical Engineering. Performed modal analysis, vibration and acoustic testing starting in 1984 for aircraft engine nacelles, providing a solid understanding to the connection between structural response and excitation sources. At GM Truck division lead the NVH team solving automotive noise and vibration issues. Taught test engineers the principles of vibration and acoustic spacecraft testing systems for three years supporting test measurement and control software.
For 23 years lead and managed a team testing spacecraft and components with large vibration systems, reverberant and direct field acoustic test facilities at Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Space Systems Loral (MAXAR). Currently supporting test and development at MSI-DFAT Services.
Paul Larkin
Paul Larkin has 40 years of experience working with aerospace structures. He has been employed as a structural dynamics engineer at such companies as; Fairchild Space Systems, Orbital Sciences Corporation and Sandia National Laboratories. Mr. Larkin is currently employed by MSI-DFAT Services where, for the past 10 years, has provided operations oversight in the area of Direct Field Acoustic Testing to support research and development, customer testing, as well as lease and sales of DFAT equipment. Paul holds a BS degree in Engineering Science from Hofstra University and a MS degree in Civil Engineering from Columbia University.
| Trusted Suppliers:
Experior Laboratories Inc.
Vibration and Shock Testing Experts
ESI Group
Finite Element Acoustic Simulation
Spectral Dynamics
Vibro-Acoustic Control and Acquisition
Siemens
Simcenter Testlab is the most advanced suite for predictive simulation and test applications – and offers a complete solution for space qualification testing.
