Constell'Actions News | Behind the scenes, First 5 satellites ready..., Preparing the teams.
1/BEHIND THE SCENES OF KINEIS NANOSATELLITES PRODUCTION
Launched at the beginning of the year at HEMERIA in Toulouse, the production of the 25 nanosatellites of the Kinéis constellation is a first in the French space industry. This unprecedented system is made up of centres installed in the same huge clean room dedicated to the project, where the meticulous work of the teams is comparable to the French know-how in watchmaking and high-tech haute-couture to produce these 25 technological jewels. There are no robots here, everything is done by hand and under human supervision, with visual checks (quality control points) carried out at certain stages of production.
Stage 1: Mechanical integration. Assembling the structure, fitting the harness (all the wiring) and the equipment inside the satellite (everything that makes it up and its payload).
Stage 2: Initial Functional Tests (IFT). When the satellite is fully assembled with its equipment and harness, we check that it is working properly before it is finally closed.
Stage 3: Integration of the solar panels and deployment tests.
2/ KINEIS FIRST 5 SATELLITES READY TO FLY... TO NEW ZEALAND!
The Kinéis and HEMERIA teams have carried out the final mechanical, thermal and functional tests on the first 5 nanosatellites that will be taking off in a few weeks. Already carried out on the Proto-Flight Model (PFM) last summer under more severe environmental conditions, these tests aimed to verify the functions and performance of these 5 satellites under environmental conditions identical to launch and flight conditions (vibrations and extreme temperatures).
At MECANO ID, each of the 5 nanosatellites was vibrated on 3 axes to check the following points: that the satellite was manufactured correctly, that the deployable elements (solar generator, antennae) held in place and did not deploy during the vibrations, and that there were no post-vibration defects, validating that the satellite's functions and performance had not been degraded.
3/ POSITIONING NANOSATELLITES: PREPARING TEAMS FOR POST-LAUNCH OPERATIONS
The Kinéis and Centre National d'Études Spatiales teams carried out Technical Operational Qualification (TOQ) tests during the 2 days following launch (Launch Early Operation Phase, LEOP), with the introduction of degraded cases (anomalies) into the operational scenario.
These tests aimed to prepare the general rehearsal (GR) for the launch of the 5 satellites, they represent an important transitional phase between technical qualification and operational qualification.
They also aimed to finalise the procedures and chronology of operations for the first 48 hours of the nanosatellites after separation from the launcher. This scenario also aimed to test the validation procedures for the equipment helping to put the satellites into orbit (wheels, star sensor, propulsion system) for the start of the in-flight acceptance test*.
*In-flight acceptance: This involves each satellite system entity validating all its capabilities as quickly as possible, through a series of operations identified in advance. The organisation of the in-flight acceptance test will make it possible to check that the platform equipment is working properly before the start of operations.