In June 2022, the European Space Agency (ESA) plans to launch the JUICE mission to Jupiter and its icy moons. ESA selected Airbus as prime contractor for the design, development, production, and testing of spacecraft JUICE. As market leader in the manufacturing of solar array substrate panels in Europe, Airborne was selected by Airbus Defence and Space Netherlands to develop and manufacture the XL substrate panels for JUICE’s solar array.
At Airborne we recently delivered the last 4 out of 10 XL substrate panels for JUICE’s solar array according to schedule. Timing was absolutely critical for this project. The launch date in 2022 needs to be met for the interplanetary spacecraft to be put on the right trajectory enabling gravity-assist flybys. The JUICE mission is particularly appealing to me because of the extreme distance the spacecraft will travel away from Earth to study the origins of the universe and life itself.
Juice Mission
After a journey that will last seven and a half years, the JUICE (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer) satellite will spend at least three years making detailed observations of the giant gaseous planet Jupiter and three of its largest moons. Given the extreme distance from the sun, the satellite will be equipped with the largest solar array ever flown on an interplanetary mission. The solar array has a total surface area of 87.5 m2.
JUICE is the first big space mission that we have worked on and a great example of what Airborne can do in terms of state-of-the-art substrate panel technology for extremely demanding space missions. The technical achievements the JUICE mission needs to adhere to are a big leap from satellites that orbit Earth. The mission will be exposed to a temperature range of -230 to +160 degrees Celsius as well as strong acceleration forces during the gravity-assist flybys and upon its arrival at Jupiter. Therefore the technical requirements for the substrate panels are very high.
Technical challenges
The 22 millimeter thick sandwich panels consist of an aluminum honeycomb with a carbon skin of 0.2 millimeters on either side. The XL substrate panels have a surface area of 8.75 m2 each and need to adhere to the same requirements as smaller panels in terms of flatness, shape stability and precision. This project required a lot of engineering to design the right tools and measure and control every aspect of production. To enable production of the substrate panels – the largest units manufactured by Airborne to date – we extended the maximum inside diameter of our 13-meter-long autoclave from 2.6 to 2.9 meters.
Due to the complexity of the project and the impact on the inspection and tooling process we created three project teams working in parallel, rather than just one. Each team had its own project manager. I was in charge of the third team as well as being the overall project manager. The first team was responsible for adapting the autoclave and adaptions to the milling machine and non-destructive inspection equipment. The second team was responsible for production preparation and making the smaller-sized samples. And the third team was responsible for all of the production tooling for the full-sized panels and the production of the flight panels.
Rigorous testing cycle
The development and manufacturing of these panels was challenging both for us and the client. We worked closely together in order to incorporate design and material changes whilst minimizing the impact on the schedule and cost. This was crucial in order to introduce flexibility into the project management. That allowed us to continue production work while we were waiting for test results, for example. We produced a large number of around 150 to 200 test samples as well as full-size prototypes that were put through a rigorous testing cycle. This included mechanical testing and exposing the panels to extreme temperatures.
Now that we have delivered the panels they will be fitted with the solar cells and hinges. After that the panels will be subjected to rigorous tests at ESA before they will be approved for launch. We also built several spare parts just in case. Due to the star-like formation of the solar panels on either side of the spacecraft there were 4 different panel configurations. The main differences were in the attachment of the hinges, while the first panel in either formation that is attached to the spacecraft also had a thicker carbon skin. We strategically made a number of spare parts for these first panels in the formation as well as the middle panel that has hinges on all sides. Should any spare panels be required along the way, these can be finalized and delivered by us within a short lead time.
New space trends
As Airborne we see two new trends emerging. Firstly, in NewSpace we see an increasing demand for smaller satellites and launchers that will require automation and digitization of composites production. Secondly, we see an increasing demand for bigger satellites with larger solar arrays. These are either big telecom satellites that require a lot of energy or space missions that need to secure enough power at extreme distances from the Sun. In both cases these satellites require larger solar panels. JUICE is a perfect example.
It’s very inspiring to see how the engineering, quality, procurement and production departments at Airborne worked very closely together to ensure the JUICE project would meet the highest specifications and be delivered on time. That is something we can be proud of. We will miss the panels now they have gone, but it’s fascinating to think that a decade from now the spacecraft will arrive at Jupiter. During that time we will have made big leaps in the world of composites production and automation.
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