An important mechanism of the Euclid satellite will be made in Poland
The mechanism for unfolding and directing the antenna – ADPM (ang. Antenna Deployment and Pointing Mechanism) is a combinedoł precision actuatorow aligned in three axes – one will be used to deploy the antenna, and the other two will be used to determine its direction. The kit enables the roalso transmission of dwoch signaloin radio from the satellite to the antenna.
SENER engineers are responsible for designing and manufacturing the actuatorow, connections for signal transmission and power supply, as well as the structure of the entire mechanism. Zarowno rotary joint and actuators are proprietary solutions developed by SENER. The ADPM was designed at SENER’s Spanish division with the participation of Polish engineersow. In turn, the production of zarowno of the mechanism, as well as the test stands, is taking place entirely in Poland. RoThe tests will also be carried out in our country.
Since SENER Poland is an engineering company and does not have its own manufacturing facilities, in working on this project the company relies on supportoThe satellite’s antenna will be used to transmit a huge amount of data from observations of the universe to Earthow. SENER is carrying out the project on behalf of the head of theow of the mission’s prime contractor, Thales Alenia Space Spain. One of the final stages of theoIn the entire project, the so-called. Test Readiness Review (TRR) for qualifying model. This means that the mechanism is assembled and the test sites are ready for the test campaign.
– For the engineeroin the most interesting part of this project is the work on the precise reusable mechanism and the electric motor, whichory are to work reliably in space – mowi Aleksandra Bukała, general director of SENER Poland.
ADPM is the second project implemented by SENER Poland for the Euclid mission. The company has made roAlso a set of 13 MGSE (ang. Mechanical Ground Support Equipment), whichore serve m.In. To precisely move the satellite in roThe answer is to be given by the probe’s test instruments, which are positioned in three axes in order to allow access for technicians. They also allow to transport the satellite to the comor test and place it in the payload bay of the launcher.
About the Euclid scientific mission
The European Space Agency‘s Euclid mission aims to understand why the Universe is expanding at the rate we are seeing. The answer is to be provided by probe test instruments thatore will allow to look at the image of the Universe from 10 billion years agooin years. The satellite is scheduled to be launched into space in 2020 aboard a Soyuz rocket from the spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
The Euclid satellite’s antenna will be used to transmit to Earth a huge amount of data from observations of the Universe. Data transmission and the development of software for its processing are key elements of the mission. The scientific use of this data will involve more than 1,200 osob in more than 100 laboratories in 15 countries. As part of the mission, it is planned that over the 10-year duration of the mission, 9 scientific centraoin the data in roThe Euclid consortium will process more than 10 petabytes ofow „raw” imageow. The ultimate goal is to make the entire Euclid mission database publicly available to the scientific community by 2028.
