It has been understood since its inception that the Space Shuttle System is a complicated structural system. This is an effect of the parallel-burn configuration, the dissimilarity of the elements, the interactions between the elements, and the environmental effects. Although there has been a continual thrust to instrument the vehicle throughout its life, recent events have prompted a renewed interest in these activities. The Shuttle Structural Dynamics Community has developed an extensive list of recommended instrumemtation to monitor the response, validate the models, and record the induced environments. A subset of this recommendation has been approved to fly on the near-term missions. The approved subset of the recommended instrumentation will monitor the element interface loads, the violent launch environment, and the vehicle response due to design changes. These measurements will be flown on the vehicle in suites over the next six missions. The constraints that served to down-select the recommended set will be discussed. This provides the necessary information to understand the promise and limitations of the flight instrumentation that will be manifested.
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