Munich | Bucharest

Successful vibration and acoustic campaign of 1.6m Ka-band reflector


October 2012

The vibration and acoustic test campaign has been finished successfully. The reflector is a 1.6m side deployable Ka-band reflector featuring novel technologies and a full CFRP design. It is a collaborative development with Invent (manufacturing) and Technische Universität München (testing technologies and material science) as well as HPS being reflector subsystem responsible, project coordinator and being in charge of design and analyses.

Key tests among other test runs at IABG were:

  • sine vibration qualification loads
  • random vibration qualifications loads
  • acoustic qualifaction loads.

Test to be performed:

  • Thermal vacuum cycling.

Key facts of reflector:

  • Ka-band
  • 1.6m aperture
  • GEO application (Tx/Rx)
  • full CFRP
  • ultra stiff (first eigenfrequency at approx. 130 Hz)
  • reflector structural mass approx. 9 kg (even lower mass is possible)
  • extremely low thermal-elastic distortions thanks to full CFRP design.