Thermal Deformation Stability Optimization Design and Experiment of the Satellite Bus to Control the Laser Communication Load’s Acquisition Time

Abstract

The optical axis angle fluctuation due to thermal deformation of the satellite bus between the laser communication load and the star sensor must be constrained to within 0.16 mrad to meet the rapid acquisition needs of the laser communication satellite. This paper analyzes the satellite’s in-orbit temperature field distribution, which is then used as the input boundary condition for the thermal deformation analysis. The optical axis angle fluctuation is reduced by the common reference optimization design. Then, adaptable isolation between the satellite bus structure and the reference support structure reduces the thermal deformation coupling. As a result, there will be less optical axis angle fluctuation caused by thermal deformation. The thermal deformation between the optimized laser communication load and the star sensor installation angle is decreased to 14.25″ according to the entire satellite simulation analysis of the modified structure. The maximum angle variation induced by temperature change dropped from 117.74″ to 10.72″ through the ground temperature deviation and prism calibration tests. The on-orbit alignment test confirms that the required capture time of 30 s is met. The aforementioned work minimizes the uncertain region of laser communication load, lessens the in-orbit acquisition time, and satisfies the demand for speedy acquisition.