Solar-B basic design review meeting

The basic design process for the Solar-B is now complete, and we are proceeding to manufacture a prototype and a structural & heat model. For the purpose of reviewing the satellite design, the 10th “basic design review meeting” was held from September 12 through 13 with the participation of engineering and science specialists other than the satellite team. A power outage in Nagoya meant that some people were unable to attend the first day (those from Mitsubishi Electric Company in Itami in charge of the visible light and magnetic telescope, those from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in charge of the mission data processor), but we adjusted the program and managed to complete a detailed, overall review of the satellite design.

I would like to mention some of the tasks covered in the review. In its present state, the satellite’s total weight is about 40kg over the target figure of 900kg. Further reduction of the weight of the satellite structure and scientific equipment is still required. While three telescopes of SOLAR-B are capable of high-spatial resolution, the feature depends on the satellite’s structure, thermal stability and attitude stability. Though the goal is close at hand, some tasks remain such as measures against thermal distortion of the attitude-line sensors and turbulence in the actuators. It was also pointed out that there is a backlog of data regarding the initial sequence immediately after the launch, the telecoma type and the ground system. It was most fruitful that the frank discussions spurred the subsequent review. Though at the time of the meeting, the master schedule was under review following a one-year postponement of the launch, the new schedule including international cooperation has now been established.