Speakers
Description
The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) mission, a joint venture between ESA and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, aims to investigate the interaction between the solar wind and Earth's magnetosphere. This presentation details the spacecraft’s environmental verification campaign, with a focus on the thermal vacuum (TVAC) test conducted in ESA’s Large Space Simulator (LSS) at ESTEC.
Both the Payload Module and Platform underwent successful and independent TVAC campaigns demonstrating robust thermal performance under mission-representative conditions and correlated, confirming thermal design margins and system stability.
The SMILE FM thermal test campaign performed in the LSS included one full thermal cycle covering Hot Operational and Cold Operational conditions. Two thermal balance phases were executed: a Hot Operational balance representative of the mission's High Elliptical Orbit (HOT HEO), and a Cold Survival balance.
The presentation will highlight key aspects of the test setup, correlation methodology, and performance verification. It concludes with lessons learned and recommendations for future international cooperation missions undergoing spacecraft-level environmental qualification in ESA test facilities.
