![]() ![]() Payload accommodation onboard Solar Orbiter. The instrument boom (I-Boom) comprises two sections, each 2 m in length, that are stowed against the spacecraft in the launch configuration. The deployment of both antennas required keeping their centre of gravity at the same height relative to the ground, so the antenna swung out parallel to the ground as the spacecraft was rotated on its side. The antenna pointing mechanism was deployed to its maximum extent during this test. #UNCHARTED 4 NO GRAVITY FULL#The full deployment of the antenna in elevation was achieved by activating its single NEA and recording the shock levels. The deployment of the horn-shaped MGA was tested in exactly the same way as the HGA – by means of an offloading mechanism. This information was recorded to ensure that the measured shock levels were always less than the equipment or instruments were originally tested for. Additional NEA releases followed.Īfter each successful release initiated by the spacecraft's onboard control system, the test team confirmed that the data had been recorded at approximately 200 locations on the spacecraft, in order to measure how the shocks permeated into the spacecraft structure. Once this offload calibration system was set up, the deployment began with the first activation of four NEAs. This was a single cable connected to the extended parts of the dish, with a compensation mass to ensure that the loading was nearly zero at the point where it was attached to the spacecraft. ![]() Credit: SENER Aerospace / European Test ServicesĪ pointing mechanism allows rotation of the HGA in azimuth (side to side) and elevation (top to bottom), to ensure that Earth is always in the line of sight when, for instance, the centre line of the spacecraft is pointing directly at the Sun.ĭuring the Solar Orbiter mechanical test campaign, the HGA was released from its stowed configuration by using four low-shock, non-explosive actuation devices (NEAs).Ĭonstructed from titanium and fitted with internal support struts, the HGA is optimised for operation in the weightless environment of outer space, so a device that would counteract its weight was required during the deployment test. The High-Gain Antenna during earlier vibration testing in May 2018. It ensures that the science data collected in the vicinity of the Sun is safely communicated back to Earth. The dish-shaped high gain antenna (see also Solar Orbiter journal #1) provides the primary communication link between the spacecraft and ground stations at the greatest distances from Earth. Solar Orbiter will carry steerable high gain and medium gain antennas. #UNCHARTED 4 NO GRAVITY VERIFICATION#CorvajaĪfter completion of the vibration and acoustic tests carried out on the spacecraft at the IABG facility in Ottobrunn, Germany (see Solar Orbiter journal #3), the functional verification of Solar Orbiter's deployable structures began in March with the medium gain antenna (MGA) and high gain antenna (HGA), followed by the instrument boom and the two solar array wings. #UNCHARTED 4 NO GRAVITY SERIES#Earlier this year, engineers completed a series of deployment tests on the spacecraft's antennas, instrument boom and solar arrays. Like most spacecraft, ESA's Solar Orbiter carries a number of deployable structures that play key roles in the success of its mission. ![]()
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