Speakers
Description
The SCA instrument on MetOp-SG SatB is a 6 beam pulsed real aperture C-band (5.355 GHz) radar in a lambda shaped antenna configuration that measures the Earth’s surface backscatter for each resolution cell from three different directions. The measured backscatter are transferred to wind vectors / soil moisture etc. via Geophysical Model Functions and are used to support Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) and ocean state forecasts at regional and global scales through the provision of surface wind vector measurements.
Airbus DS GmbH Friedrichshafen acts hereby as SCA Instrument Prime with Airbus DS S.a.U. Madrid as responsible for the SCA Antenna Subsystem as SCA Core Team Member.
The paper gives an overview on the thermal design and thermal verification approach of the SCA sub systems, from electronic units, front-end electronics up to the thermal design and verification of the antenna system.
The antenna subsystem is hereby qualified in a classical approach with a STM qualification test campaign and subsequent acceptance testing of the PFM, FM2 and 3.
It is shown, which trades have been conducted to come to the final thermal design and how the qualification is performed in view of the large size of the antenna in deployed configuration and the requirements on minimized variation in thermo-elastic deformation over the orbit and over the season.
