Structural Flight Qualification of the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory
- Paper number
IAC-06-C2.1.02
- Author
Ms. Teresa Betenbaugh, The John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, United States
- Year
2006
- Abstract
The Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) mission is part of NASA’s Sun-Earth Connections program. The primary goal of the STEREO mission is to discover how Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) develop at the Sun, propagate in interplanetary space, and effect the Earth’s environment. STEREO consists of two nearly identical Sun pointing observatories. Both observatories orbit the Sun with one observatory leading the Earth, and the other observatory lagging the Earth. The STEREO observatories will produce 3-D images of CMEs during their two year mission. The STEREO observatories will be launched stacked on a Boeing Delta 7925-10L launch vehicle in 2006. The STEREO mission requirements presented many challenges to the observatory mechanical design, analysis, and test. STEREO’s tight pointing stability requirements were complicated by four 6 meter booms, two deployed solar arrays, and a deployed high gain antenna mounted on each observatory. Meeting launch vehicle requirements for payload stiffness and mass was difficult for the ten foot tall seven foot wide observatory stack. The observatory stack must also be spin balanced for flight on the Delta II third stage, which is a challenge with a payload weight limit of 1285 kilograms. This paper describes how the STEREO mission requirements were verified through analysis and test. The STEREO Observatory stability, strength, vibration, shock, acoustic, spin balance and mass property verification are discussed.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-06-C2.1.02.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.