Mechanical Ground Support Equipment Research Articles

Smart Ground Support Equipment—The Design and Demonstration of Robotic Ground Support Equipment for Small Spacecraft Integration and Verification

In order to reduce the costs of integration and verification processes and to optimize the assembly, integration and verification (AIV) flow in the prototype development of small- and medium-sized spacecrafts, an industrial six-axis robot was used as a universal mechanical ground support equipment instead of a tailored prototype specific ground support equipment (GSE). In particular, a robotic platform offers the possibility of embedding verification steps such as mass property determination into the integration process while offering a wider range of ergonomic adaption due to the enhanced number of degrees of freedom compared to a classical static Mechanical GSE (MGSE). This reduces development costs for projects and enhances the flexibility and ergonomics of primarily mechanical AIV operations. In this paper, the robotic MGSE system is described, the operational prospects for in-line verification are elaborated and an example is given showing the possibilities and challenges of its operational use as well as its in-line mass determination capabilities. For this purpose, a method has been developed that allows for the precise measurement of the spacecraft mass using the robot’s existing technology without the need for additional hardware. Subsequent work will extend this to determine the center of gravity and the moments of inertia of the payload on the robotic MGSE.

Method on parametric design technology of spacecraft assembly MGSE

MGSE [1] (Mechanical Ground Support Equipment) is necessary equipment for spacecraft research and development. The traditional MGSE design method requires repeated modeling, analysis and drawing, so the traditional design method is inefficient for the design of stereotyped MGSE. This paper introduces a new parameter-based fast design MGSE method. This method extracts the key parameters to drive the establishment of the model. Parametric analysis can be carried out in the system. Compared with traditional design methods, the efficiency can be at least double.

한국형발사체 발사대시스템 지상기계설비 운용개념 및 절차

한국형발사체 발사대시스템 지상기계설비 운용개념 및 절차

한국형발사체 발사대 고압가스 공급시스템 소개

한국형발사체 발사대시스템은 지상기계설비, 추진제공급설비, 발사관제설비 그리고 기반시설로 구성된다. 추진제공급설비의 구성품인 고압가스 공급시스템은 우주발사체 발사 운용에 필요한 고압가스를 저장하고 각 사용처에 공급하는 역할을 수행한다. 고압가스 공급시스템은 고압가스 저장부, 조정패널, 제어서브시스템 등으로 구성되며, 조정패널 중 자동패널은 제어기와 연동되어 원격으로 구동이 가능하도록 구축된다. 본 논문에서는 한국형발사체와 발사대시스템 지상설비의 특성을 고려하여 설계된 고압 가스 공급시스템에 대해 소개하고자 한다. The KSLV-II launch complex system consists of mechanical ground support equipment(MGSE), fuel ground support equipment(FGSE), electrical ground support equipment(EGSE) and infrastructures. Compressed gas supply system, as a part of FGSE, is responsible for launch operations such as gas intake, storage, supply to launch vehicle and ground support equipments. This system consists of three primary elements such as gas storage part, control panel and controller. Automatic panels, as a part of control panel, are manufactured to operate remotely by controller. This study presents compressed gas supply system which is designed for KSLV-II and ground support equipment characteristics.

Functional verification and performance tests of an ultra-low shock non-explosive actuator for hold-down and release mechanisms for space applications

This paper addresses the functional verification and performance assessment of an ultra-low shock non-explosive actuator appropriate to space applications of hold-down and release mechanisms. To demonstrate that the design implementation and manufacturing methods have resulted in an engineering model conforming to the set of functional, performance and environmental requirements specified, a space qualification test campaign is typically required. To ensure the readiness of the engineering model and the adequacy of the mechanical and electrical ground support equipment required for the entire qualification test campaign, a set of functional verification procedures and performance characterization tests were systematized and undertaken before the mechanism qualification. A preload monitoring system was developed and calibrated, and the performance of the mechanism was evaluated through the estimation of the release time and the measurement of the self-generated shock. The main results and conclusions taken from these tests are presented and discussed here.

A study on structural safety of mechanical ground support equipment during the launch operation of a Korea small launch vehicle (KSLV-1)

The responsibility of the mechanical ground support equipment (MGSE) during the launch operation of a space rocket is to provide mechanical maneuvering for the rocket (e.g., transporting, erecting to a vertical position, lowering to a horizontal position) and an automatic mating/de-mating of ground propellant filling lines for the LV. Those MGSE should have structurally enough stiffness and strength to protect and avoid a resonance with the LV during launch operation. This paper introduces the study of structural safety of the MGSE under the structural loading environment during the launch operation of a Korean small launch vehicle (KSLV-1). For this study, computer-aided analysis was performed. To verify FEM model, a static loading test for MGSE in horizontal position was performed. Then displacement data acquired from static loading test were compared with the result of computational analysis. With the FEM model verified above, to check the possibility of resonance between the LV and the MGSE, the first step was to perform normal mode analysis to identify the natural frequencies of the LV and the MGSE. Then, the normal mode analysis for the integrated LV and -MGSE assembly was performed. By comparing the results of each normal mode analysis, the possibility of resonance was analyzed. To check the structural safety under the loading environments of wind and gravity, the stress analysis of the MGSE in vertical position which is most critical loading case was performed. Results show that there is no possibility of resonance between LV and MGSE and the calculated margin of safety is at least above 7. Through several qualification tests of MGSE and three actual flight tests of the KSLV -1, all MGSE worked properly and no resonance occurred between the LV and MGSE. Also, there was no mechanical damage found on the MGSE. The procedure adapted for the development of MGSE for KSLV-1 can be used on the development MGSE for future project.

통신방송위성 Ka-대역 기술인증모델 탑재체의 열진공시험을 위한 MGSE 패널 열설계

통신방송위성 Ka-대역 기술인증모델(EQM)탑재체의 열진공시험을 위한 기계지상지원장비 패널의 열설계를 수행하고 열진공 챔버내에서의 성능시험을 위한 열환경을 수치적 방법으로 예측하였다. 탑재체 패널의 히트파이프 배열 설계 검증을 위한 열해석은 SINDA를 사용하였다. 개발된 16개 히트파이트 배열은 Ka-대역 중계기 전장품들의 성능시험을 위해 적절하게 설계되었다. 고온 성능시험은 패널 외부 면재에 가해지는 열유속이 265W/㎡ 일 때 수행되고, 저온 성능시험은 패널 외부로부터 열유입이 없을 때 수행된다. 히트파이프의 최대 열수송 용량은 2723 W-cm로 예측되었다. The thermal design of MGSE(Mechanical Ground Support Equipment) panel is performed for thermal vacum thest of Ka-band EQM(Engineering Qualification Model) payload of communications and broadcasting satellite. The thermal environments are predicted to evaluate the performance of transponder equipments in the thermal vacum chamber. SINDA is used to verify the thermal design of the heat pipe layout. Embedded 16 heat pipes in the EQM payload developed for Ka-band trasponder equipments are designded properly. The heat fluz loaded on the external facesheet is 265W/㎡ for the hot platear function test of the traspinder equipments, and the zero heat flux for the cold plateau case. The maxium predicted heat transport capability is 2723 W-cm.