2020/12/11 by Alain Robert, Robert, Alain, Valerio Cipolla +30 · 1 citation
Engineering · #FOS: Physical sciences #General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc) #Inertial Sensor and Navigation #Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM) #Space Physics (physics.space-ph) #Space Satellite Systems and Control #Spacecraft Design and Technology #Spacecraft Dynamics and Control
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2012.06479
openalex publication_date 2020/12/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
This paper focus on the description of the design and performance of the MICROSCOPE satellite and its Drag-Free and Attitude Control System (DFACS). The satellite is derived from CNES' Myriade platform family, albeit with significant upgrades dictated by the unprecedented MICROSCOPE's mission requirements. The 300kg drag-free microsatellite has completed its 2-year flight with higher-than-expected performances. Its passive thermal concept allowed for variations smaller than 1 μK at the measurement frequency f_\rmEP. The propulsion system provided a 6 axis continuous and very low noise thrust from zero to some hundreds of micronewtons. Finally, the performance of its DFACS (aimed at compensating the disturbing forces and torques applied to the satellite) is the finest ever achieved in low Earth orbit, with residual accelerations along the three axes are lower than 10-12 \rm m/s2 at f_\rmEP over 8 days.