Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com, February 15, according to the website of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the leading special SMILE mission satellite team of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Phase II) recently went to the European Space Agency (hereinafter referred to as "ESA") European Space Technology Center (ESTEC) to conduct satellite initial satellite and arrow joint tests, and completed interface docking, satellite separation and impact tests.

In this experiment, the SMILE structural satellite developed by the Institute of Micro Satellite Innovation, Chinese Academy of Sciences is used to dock with the flight adapter and strap of Ariana Space Company. Satellite Innovation Institute, ESA, Ariana Space Company, Airbus Defense and Aerospace Company (Airbus) and other units participated in the joint test. This is the first China-EU on-site communication activity since the SMILE Task-level preliminary Design Review (M-PDR) in January 2020, and it is also a milestone in the development of SMILE tasks.

▲ Chinese satellite team is carrying out satellite assembly | Picture Source: according to the website of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Sciences said that this test has achieved three first times in China: the Chinese satellite is exported and transported to ESA for the first time; the Chinese satellite team carries out the whole satellite integration and assembly in ESA for the first time; the Chinese satellite carries out docking and separation impact tests with European carriers for the first time.

In order to ensure the smooth completion of this mission, the Chinese satellite team transported three segments of SMILE structural satellites to ESA by temporary export at the end of December 2022, realizing the first export of Chinese satellites and equipment to ESA. The whole satellite integration of the SMILE mission is carried out by the Institute of Micro Satellite Innovation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, with the assistance of ESA. The SMILE mission satellite team completed the final assembly, integration and preparation of the three segments of the structural satellite in the ESTEC factory. This is the first time that the Chinese satellite team has carried out the whole satellite integration and assembly in ESA.

According to reports, the docking and separation shock tests of satellites and carriers in the SMILE mission are jointly carried out by China and the EU. The two sides cooperated to complete the inspection and confirmation of the satellite-arrow interface, the review of the test details, the two satellite-arrow mechanical interface docking and separation impact tests, all of which were completely successful. this is also the first time that Chinese satellites have conducted docking and separation impact tests with European carriers. The docking test verifies the matching of the mechanical interface between the Chinese satellite and the European carrier and the reliability of the carrier separation mechanism, and obtains the impact response of the unlocking of the envelope to the key parts on the satellite. All the results meet the requirements of the index, at the same time, it verifies the correctness of the joint simulation of the satellite-arrow coupling model between China and Europe, and further confirms the positive technical status between the large-scale systems of SMILE tasks, which lays a good foundation for the task-level China-EU Joint prototype Design Review (Mission-Critical Design Review) to be carried out in June this year.

According to the development plans of China and Europe, the SMILE task force will go to Spain in April this year to carry out docking tests with the European payload module, and in May and September to Germany to carry out docking tests with European measurement and control stations and data transmission stations, so as to further consolidate the prototype development work and ensure that the satellite is launched on time.

CTOnews.com learned from the official website of the Chinese Academy of Sciences that the SMILE satellite project is the first space science exploration mission of deep mission-level cooperation between China and ESA. The goal is to detect the large-scale structure and basic model of solar wind-magnetosphere interaction, recognize the overall variation process and periodic variation of magnetospheric substorms, and explore the occurrence and development of magnetic storms driven by coronal mass ejection events. The overall project is composed of the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and ESA, the satellite is the Institute of Micro Satellite Innovation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the carrier rocket uses the European Ariana Space Company (Ariane) Vega-C carrier rocket. The SMILE satellite is scheduled to be launched at the Kuru Space launch Center in French Guiana in 2025.

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