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Restoring the Gaia deployable sunshield assembly to the launch stowed configuration

Restoring the Gaia deployable sunshield assembly to the launch stowed configuration


Date: 11 October 2013
Satellite: Gaia
Copyright: ESA-CNES-Arianespace / Optique Vidéo du CSG - JM Guillon

Engineers from SENER and Astrium stow Gaia’s Deployable Sunshield Assembly (DSA) against the spacecraft, in the S1B cleanroom at the Centre Spatial Guyanais in Kourou, French Guiana.

The Gaia spacecraft was flown on an Antonov transport plane from Toulouse Blagnac airport in France to Félix Eboué airport in French Guiana on 23 August 2013. The DSA arrived five days later.

Prior to transport, the multi-layer insulation (MLI) of the DSA had been removed for inspection and storage. Once in Kourou, the DSA had to be ‘reconstructed’ by installing the MLI and solar panels on the framework, and tested.

The DSA is stowed for launch and is deployed an hour later. Part of the testing at Kourou involved checking the deployment mechanisms. To partly simulate the conditions under which the deployment would take place, and to protect the DSA, the tests were carried out with a gravity compensation system. This system involves hanging each frame from a cable guided through pulleys along metallic beams to a system of counterweights placed around the spacecraft.

The DSA was successfully tested on 10 October 2013. (See the time lapse sequence of the tests here.) After the test, the triangular deployable blankets between the frames were removed, the frames were brought back to the vertical stowed position and secured to the spacecraft. After that the deployable blankets were rolled and installed again between the frames.

The Prime Contractor for Gaia is Astrium SAS, based in Toulouse, France. SENER (Spain) is responsible for the development and manufacture of the Deployable Sunshield Assembly. The thermal blankets are provided by RUAG Aerospace Austria and the carbon fibre frames come from RUAG Aerospace Switzerland.

Last Update: 1 September 2019
28-Mar-2024 20:38 UT

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