Speaker
Description
Comet Interceptor is a fast-class mission in ESA’s Cosmic Vision Program comprising three spacecrafts. With the challenge of a short development process, it will be the first mission to visit a Long Period Comet that is starting its journey in the inner Solar System. These objects are difficult to target because while detected, a small amount of time remains before leaving again the inner Solar System. The Comet Interceptor mission aims to be deployed as soon as such objects are detected to get valuable observations on material untouched since the early millennials of the Solar System.
The Rotating Mirror Assembly (RMA) is a mechanism that is mounted on the Comet Interceptor spacecraft A. Its main function is to rotate the entrance mirror facing the Comet Camera (CoCa) instrument. The rotation allows to perform continuous observations during the flyby, without moving the spacecraft. It is composed of 2 elements: the Scan Mirror Assembly (SMA) which is the contribution of the Centre Spatial de Liège (CSL), and the Scan Mirror Electronics (SME) which is a Thales Alenia Space Switzerland (TASCH) contribution, driving the mechanism and electrically interfacing with the spacecraft.
The SMA is constituted of two major assemblies: the Optical Assembly, including a flat mirror, optical baffles and a dust shield for protection against dust particles from the comet tail during fly-by; and the Drive Mechanism at its root, interfacing with the spacecraft and the SME. The main function of the SMA is to reflect the comet object to the CoCa telescope during the whole flyby, without observation interruption.
The end of the qualification campaign of the SMA Qualification Model (QM) took place with the TVAC tests, with a duration of 2 weeks during the end of May and the beginning of June 2026. The performances of the mechanism as well as its behavior under representative hot and cold conditions have been assessed successfully. With the temperature monitoring of the SMA during the campaign, the TVAC test enables access to experimental data that will help to build an accurate and efficient thermal model of the SMA.
In this presentation, the thermal correlation of the TVAC model is discussed with the associated thermal flight model and updated predictions. The differences between both models are discussed. The methodology and the correlation process are presented, and the main difficulties encountered are discussed. A conclusion summarizes the lesson learnt until now as a young graduate thermal engineer.