HPS hands over Euclid´s Flight Model of Antenna Reflector Assembly (ARA) to TAS-I in Rome

Euclid, ESA´s ambitious mission to map geometry and development of the Dark Universe over the past 10 billion years from 2022 on has taken a big step forward: HPS delivered the ARA-flight model hardware to ESA´s prime TAS in Rome and the communication subsystem prime TAS in Madrid after all tests (TVT, Bake-out, modal survey, optical check and main reflector contour, grounding and MLI/SLI installation) had been concluded successfully and on time.

Euclid´s ARA (Antenna Reflector Assembly) is one of the mission´s hardware keys, since it is responsible for transmitting all the scientific data, which will provide an unprecedented insight into the origin of the Universe. Extremely lightweight and stable materials have been employed in the just 4.5 kg reflector assembly to assure the demanding strength and performance requirements from the launch phase until the operations at the second Lagrangian point L2, located at 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. The high end precision in the micrometer range has been achieved in the single parts positioning during the alignment activities, allowing optimal performances in the signal transmission.

The Consortium, led by HPS GmbH (Munich based German SME) has successfully implemented the involvement of several countries across Europe. HPS would like to thank its partners for the outstanding work performed together: Invent GmbH in Germany for composite technology, SERENUM a.s. in Czech Republic for metal parts, AAC GmbH for environmental testing, FHP Ltd. in Portugal for Multi Layer Insulation technology and ONERA in France for radio-frequency characterisation testing.

Already back in 2017, HPS had successfully delivered a first Structural-Thermal Model (STM) of the Euclid ARA as well as an Engineering Qualification Model (EQM) in 2018 for testing and qualification purposes at satellite level. The delivery of the Flight Model now took place end of August 2019.

The customer chain explicitly “appreciates the effort done by HPS to fulfill the schedule dates in this complex period of the summer break and congratulates to all the good results obtained”.

HPS GmbH

Point of contact:  Dr. Ernst Pfeiffer, CEO
E-Mail: info@hps-gmbh.com
Telephone: +49 (89) 4520576-0

Immenstaad, 27 September 2018: The German-French satellite MERLIN (Methane Remote Sensing LIDAR Mission) is a mission to observe the concentration of the greenhouse gas methane. In this cooperation between CNES and DLR, CNES signs responsible for the satellite bus, which is a Myriade Evolution, and DLR signs responsible for the instrument. The instrument on MERLIN is a pulsed high power LIDAR (Light Detecting and Ranging) operating precisely at the methane absorption lines at 1645.55 nm wavelength. The instrument emits two different wavelengths called ‘online’ and ‘offline’: Online means located in the absorption feature and offline beside it for reference purposes.

To enable the required emission wavelengths around 1645.5-1645.7 nm, a frequency reference unit (FRU) is part of the instrument on the satellite. The frequency reference unit contains a methane gas cell, several diode lasers (1064 nm and 1645 nm emission wavelength), a wavemeter and the associated control electronics including an FPGA for stabilizing the diode laser emissions and the high power laser pulse frequency to the methane cell and the wavemeter. The FRU is delivering its optical signals to the high power laser and measures their wavelengths and the ones of the high power laser pulses to MHz accuracy. In addition it performs the wavelength stabilization control loops for the internal diode laser and of the OPO of the high power laser.

One and a half years after the start phase C/D, SpaceTech GmbH delivered the CDR data package for the frequency reference unit to Airbus and DLR. The co-location took place on the 25th and 26th of July 2018 at the SpaceTech premises in Immenstaad, Germany. All RIDs have been closed and no showstoppers for the CDR have been found. The engineering model has been built and  its final testing phase has started.

After the successful operation of the LRI on GRACE-FO in orbit, the development of the frequency reference unit is the next major C/D development activity for a laser-optical instrument at SpaceTech.

Key and driving requirements of the FRU are:

• 5 mW of optical output power at 1645 nm with a laser frequency accuracy and stability of  10 MHz
• 10 mW of optical output power at 1064 nm with less than 1 MHz linewidth
• Measurement of every single transmitted pulse with a systematic error of less than 8 MHz
• Controlling the cavity of the optical parametric oscillator in the main laser

Links:
DLR Site in MERLIN (http://www.dlr.de/rd/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-2440/3586_read-31672/)
Animated in orbit maneuvers of the MERLIN satellite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmlSAB-ltek
Scientific publication: http://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/9/10/1052

Das diesem Bericht zugrundeliegende FE-Vorhaben wird im Auftrag des Bundesministeriums für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWi) unter dem Förderkennzeichen 50EP1301 durchgeführt. Die Arbeiten sind Teil einer Kooperation zwischen DLR Raumfahrt-Management und CNES beim deutsch-französischen MERLIN-Satellitenprojekt. STI führt die Arbeiten im Unterauftrag der Firma Airbus DS GmbH, Ottobrunn durch. Die Verantwortung für den Inhalt dieser Veröffentlichung liegt beim Autor.

SpaceTech GmbH (STI)

Point of contact: Dr. Kolja Nicklaus
E-Mail: business@spacetech-i.com
Phone: +49 (7545) 932 84 86

Immenstaad, 07 September 2018: The complex deployment work for ICARUS on ISS was conducted on August 15th. The Russian cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Sergey Prokopyev successfully installed the ICARUS antenna “demonstrator”- a large antenna assembly which consists of a transmit and multiple receive antennas.

CRN Management presents the portal of German Space SMEs www.best-of-space.de at the Industry Space Days 2018 of ESA in ESTEC, Noordwijk, NL from 11. to 12. September 2018.

You are invited to meet us at booth K24, right next to the ESA-village to meet with experts form German Space Companies.

Some German SMEs have a booth of their own, see floorplan.

CRN Management GmbH

Point of contact: Jens Janke
E-Mail: jens.janke@crn-management.de
Phone: +49 (228) 5344-9144

ASP-Equipment GmbH, the largest independent SME for space products in Germany, has decided to take another major step of sustainable growth.
In autumn 2017 it was decided to acquire another 6.400 square meters of land directly next to the existing ASP-Equipment headquarters in Salem, in order to add…

On Friday 12 December 2017, the transport of the two GRACE-FO satellites and their launch adapter from IABG to Munich Airport was successfully completed. STI helped to transport…

After a long, thorough and positive evaluation process, the European Space Agency (ESA) has decided to procure SpaceBolt, the bolt analysis software of Space Structures GmbH and…