The qualification campaign of SARA, a Solar Array Drive Assembly for small satellites
- Paper number
IAC-24,B4,IP,117,x88394
- Author
Mr. Filippo Oggionni, Italy
- Year
2024
- Abstract
Small satellite missions are increasingly attractive for space-based service providers for their standardized components and cost-effectiveness. Despite their advantages, these smaller satellites encounter challenges in delivering high-quality services, particularly in terms of coverage, revisit time, and timeliness. These challenges stem primarily from their limited payload duty cycles, which can be as low as 5%, posing significant obstacles, especially for missions with active payloads such as antennas and radars, due to the constraints of the power budget. To address these limitations, Revolv Space has developed the Solar Array Rotary Actuator (SARA), currently at Technology Readiness Level (TRL 8). SARA is an autonomous and fail-safe Solar Array Drive Assembly designed to improve the power budget by decoupling payload attitude from solar panels. It comprises coarse Sun sensors, power electronics, control logic, actuation systems, and SnapBack, a mechanism that restores the reference position of the solar arrays in the event of a safe mode trigger or malfunction. One of the standout features of SARA is its compatibility with a wide range of platforms, from CubeSats (ranging from 3U to 16U) to larger microsatellites. Each SARA unit supports power transfer of up to 300 W and can actuate a single wing with a mass of up to 2.5 kg. This transformative capability effectively grants CubeSats the power budget equivalent to that of a small ESPA-class spacecraft. SARA is expected to fly for the first time in Q4 2024. SARA has undergone an extensive testing campaign to validate its reliability and performance. The testing plan includes functional and characterization tests, as well as rigorous environmental tests to ensure its suitability for the harsh conditions of space. The testing campaign followed a "test-as-you-fly" approach, encompassing static acceleration, vibration and shock response spectrum tests, thermal-vacuum chamber tests (including lifetime tests), and Single Event Effects (SEE) tests of the electronic assembly. Deployment and rotation tests within the campaign utilize a mockup of the solar panel assembly along with an offloading system to simulate zero-G conditions. In conclusion, this presentation focuses on the qualification campaign of SARA, providing insights into the test plan, methodology, and lessons learned. It assesses the preparation, execution, results, and overall representativeness of the testing campaign with respect to flight conditions and showcases the design of cost-effective mechanical and electrical ground support equipment utilized to replicate tests typically performed on subsystems of larger spacecraft, offering valuable insights for future small satellite missions.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
(absent)