Measurement and stability of the pointing of the BepiColombo Laser Altimeter under thermal load

The BepiColombo Laser Altimeter (BELA) has been selected to fly on ESA's BepiColombo mission to Mercury. The instrument will be the first European laser altimeter designed for interplanetary flight. This paper describes the setup used to characterize the angular movements of BELA under the simu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta astronautica 2014-12, Vol.105 (1), p.171-180
Main Authors: Gouman, Julien, Beck, Thomas, Affolter, Michael, Thomas, Nicolas, Geissbuehler, Urs, Peteut, Alain, Bandy, Timothy, Servonet, Anthony, Piazza, Daniele, Seiferlin, Karsten, Ghose, Kaustav
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Encounters
Laser altimeters
Mercury (planet)
Missions
Movements
Receiving
Space missions
Transmitters
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Summary:The BepiColombo Laser Altimeter (BELA) has been selected to fly on ESA's BepiColombo mission to Mercury. The instrument will be the first European laser altimeter designed for interplanetary flight. This paper describes the setup used to characterize the angular movements of BELA under the simulated environmental conditions that the instrument will encounter when orbiting Mercury. The system comprises a laser transmitter and a receiving telescope, which can move with respect to each other under thermal load. Tests performed using the Engineering Qualification Model show that the setup is accurate enough to characterize angular movements of the instrument components to an accuracy of approximately 10 mu rad. The qualification instrument is thermally stable to operate during all mission phases around Mercury proving that the transmitter and receiver sections will remain within the alignment requirements during its mission.
ISSN:0094-5765
DOI:10.1016/j.actaastro.2014.09.006