Speaker
Description
The presentation deals with the thermal testing of a deployable reflector which is part
of a spaceborne SAR payload.
The different challenges, solutions and lessons learnt of the QM thermal vacuum test
will be presented.
Due to the design of the deployable reflector, three different cavities – one external
and two different internal sections – needed to be qualified simultaneously. Due to
the challenge of meeting component temperature extrema on the one hand and the
average temperature extrema of the long waveguide structure due to thermo-elastic
reasons on the other hand, an antagonistic environmental control has been
developed and applied which will be explained in the presentation.
Also the challenge of meeting and monitoring thermo-elastic distortion requirements
for the RF waveguides during the test is presented.
Concluding, lessons learnt of the thermal vacuum test are outlined, comprising the
difference between theory and practice i.e. between test predictions and testing, as
well as the monitoring and preventing of an uncontrolled mechanism deployment
during the test.
