RU2753063C1 - Method for assembly of load-bearing structure of small spacecraft - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: cosmonautics.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to space equipment, more specifically, equipment for creation of small spacecrafts. The method for assembly of the load-bearing structure of a small spacecraft consists in the body being assembled on a base. The base is covered with milled plates attached to the base. The base is shaped as a cone of composite material, comprised of a base plate, an upper frame and mounting brackets made of metal. The planes and holes of the base plate and the upper frame are mechanically treated along the ±Z axes, then the plates are installed along the ±Z axes. The plate along the –Y axis and the plate along the –X axis are also mechanically treated and attached to the base. The brackets are then mounted along the +X axis and a honeycomb panel is installed.

EFFECT: optimal mass and weight characteristics are provided.

3 cl, 5 dwg

Description

The invention relates to space technology and can be used to create small spacecraft (MCA), launched in a group and incidentally.

The main segments of the space market are telecommunications, navigation and Earth remote sensing. To provide telecommunications and navigation, most often, spacecraft (SC) of the middle and heavy class are used. However, one of the most promising is the MCA market, the use of which is quite wide: agriculture, planning of construction of facilities, environmental control, forestry, the search for natural resources, as well as other areas of economic activity.

Thanks to advanced scientific, engineering and technological solutions in the world, along with an increase in the active life, a noticeable decrease in the mass of equipment installed on the spacecraft is observed. In addition, with the development of technology, it became possible to relay a large amount of information using the MCA.

The use of small spacecraft makes it possible to obtain advantages over medium and heavy class vehicles: lower launch costs, the possibility of prompt implementation of advanced information and communication technologies into practice, reduced creation time and payback, and flexibility in creating and maintaining spacecraft constellations.

In this regard, there are opportunities for more efficient use of small spacecraft, with a mass of up to 1 t. In turn, reducing the mass of the spacecraft makes it possible to use light-class launch vehicles for launching them or to withdraw them as an additional (associated) payload to the main spacecraft. which increases the number of spacecraft launched per year, and, consequently, contributes to the growth of the functioning orbital constellation.

Known high-resolution scanner frame made of carbon fiber for attaching optical elements and components of the spacecraft, the load-bearing walls of which are made of carbon fiber to ensure the thermal stability of its structure, considered in the collection of scientific papers, issue 1 (73), 2013 "Issues of design and production of aircraft ", Pp. 40-51. The spacecraft frame structure consists of a composite material. Titanium bushings are used to fix the walls to each other; bushings made of heat-insulating material are used to ensure thermal balance.

The disadvantage of this design is the lack of an element that ensures the rigidity and strength of the structure, as well as the lack of the possibility of multiple assembly and disassembly of the structure.

Known space platform for small spacecraft, protected by the patent RU 132422 U1, in which the body is made in the form of a parallelepiped of honeycomb panels. Thermal stabilization of the structure is achieved by heat pipes built into the honeycomb panels. The equipment is located both inside and outside the platform body. The honeycomb panels are screwed together.

The disadvantage of the known design is the use of honeycomb structures, which entails the technological complexity of manufacturing (the availability of equipment for the manufacture of honeycomb panels, an increased manufacturing cycle, etc.), the use of heat pipes for thermal stabilization, leading to an increase in weight and complication of the manufacturing process of the product.

The well-known supporting structure of the body of the optoelectronic module made of carbon fiber for spacecraft, published in the collection "Aviation and Rocket and Space Engineering", 2016, pp. 571-577, according to which the body must maintain geometric parameters within the specified limits, be strong and rigid , ensure the stability of angular and linear dimensions. A composite material was chosen as the body material, taking into account the low temperature deformation and high elastic-strength characteristics.

The disadvantages of the design are: the complexity of making seats for equipment (the need to bake elements at the stage of polymerization), the inability to remove excessive heat release from the equipment, an increase in the rigidity of the structure due to an increase in the wall thickness and the introduction of reinforcing ribs of the structure, which entails an increase in the weight of the product.

The closest to the claimed technical solution in terms of the technical essence and the achieved technical result is patent RU 2651309 C1 "Microclass Earth Remote Sensing Spacecraft", according to which the spacecraft contains a body in the form of a parallelepiped, consisting of side panels fixed on the frame of the service equipment in the form of a milled plate ... Solar panels are installed on the side and top panels, as well as on the camera lid, from the side of the bottom panel. The plate contains: a power supply and control unit, VHF antennas, a Ka-band transmitter, a gyroscope and star sensors. An optical-electronic system, flywheel motors and other elements are fixed under the plate by means of a frame. The top panel has a GPS antenna and VHF transceiver antennas. Corner ribs at the joints of the side panels play the role of support guides in the interaction of the spacecraft with the transport and launch container.

The described method is taken as a prototype of the invention.

For the claimed method, the following essential features common to the prototype have been identified: a method for assembling the supporting structure of an MCA, which consists in the fact that the body is assembled on a base, which is covered with milled plates attached to it.

The disadvantages of the known method are: the absence of a rigid base made of composite material to ensure the rigidity of the structure at all stages of the spacecraft operation, solar panels made on the basis of multilayer printed plates make the structure heavier, and the presence of additional reinforcements with kerchiefs complicates the structure.

A common disadvantage of the methods described above is the lack of a unified assembly sequence diagram that provides an exact procedure at the stage of spacecraft manufacturing.

The basis of the present invention is the technical problem of creating a method for assembling small spacecraft with the combined use of composite and metal materials, which has a lower weight, high accuracy in the mutual arrangement of seats for equipment, along with ensuring thermal connections between equipment, mechanical strength, rigidity and multiple assembly-disassembly of the product. ...

The technical problem posed is solved by the method of assembling small spacecraft, which consists in the fact that the assembly is carried out on a rigid composite base, which is a component of the spacecraft, which has a metal frame and a base plate, to which aluminum plates are attached using titanium fasteners. The accuracy of the relative position of the plates relative to each other, as well as the possibility of multiple assembly and disassembly of the product is ensured through the use of pins and sequential interconnected machining of the product planes at each stage of assembly operations. Optimal thermal connections are ensured through the use of dissimilar materials - metals and non-metals - in the structure.

Thus, the solution to the problem is to develop an optimized sequence of assembly and erection works in order to ensure the required stiffness parameters of the structure and machining at each stage of the assembly.

The claimed invention is illustrated by drawings, which show:

- in Fig. 1 - general view of the small spacecraft design;

- in Fig. 2 - arrangement of plates (component assembly units) of the MCA structure;

- in Fig. 3 - the composition of the base;

- in Fig. 4 - fastening element (pin) for the unambiguous position of the plates relative to each other;

- in Fig. 5 - elements of fasteners of the structure.

The assembly of the MCA structure is carried out sequentially. First, a base is made (Fig. 3), consisting of the main element - a hollow cone 8, made of composite material, fixed to the cone of the base plate 9 and the upper frame 10, as well as mounting brackets 11. Elements 9, 10, 11 are made of metal such as aluminum. Upon completion of the assembly of the base, the base plane, which is on the base plate 9, is machined in order to obtain the required accuracy of the base surface. The base plate 9 subsequently becomes the installation base, relative to which all subsequent processing of the assembly unit for the installation of the plates is carried out. After that, the base is attached to the tooling by the base plane, the planes and holes of the base plate 9 and the upper frame 10 are machined along the ± Z axes. The base is closed with milled plates 2, 3 along the ± Z axes (Fig. 2) and attached to it using fasteners 16, and positioned using pins 14. The plates are made in the form of assembly units containing titanium threaded bushings to ensure the assembly of the structure, as well as metallization nuts.

Upon completion of the installation of plates along the ± Z axes, machining of the surface and holes for installing the plate along the –Y axis, mounting surfaces for equipment, and also mounting plate 4, located along the –Y axis, is performed.

After that, all the remaining surfaces and holes for mounting plate 7 are machined and plate 7 is mounted, located in the -X axis direction, followed by machining of the seating surfaces for equipment.

At the final stage, the brackets 6 and the honeycomb panel 5 are installed along the + X axis, which provide temperature decoupling and the mutual position of the structural elements to achieve and ensure optimal thermal connections between the equipment located on the honeycomb panel 5 and plates 2, 3, 4, 7.

For the unambiguous position of the plates 12, 13 (Fig. 4) relative to each other, to ensure high accuracy of the relative positioning of the seats for the equipment, pins 14 are provided.

For screwing the product, ensuring multiple assembly and disassembly of the product in the plates, threaded titanium bushings 15 are provided, which are locked in the plates using an adhesive composition. The plates are fastened using metal fasteners: titanium bolts 16, an aluminum washer 17, a steel spring washer 18 (Fig. 5), thereby achieving the required mechanical strength and rigidity of the product.

The end result of the assembly is a strong and rigid MCA structure made of metallic and non-metallic materials, which provides, along with mechanical strength and rigidity, a minimum weight of the product (Fig. 1).

Thus, the proposed method for assembling small spacecraft, which consists in the fact that the assembly is carried out on a rigid composite base, which is a component of the spacecraft, having a metal frame and a base plate, to which aluminum plates are attached using titanium fasteners using pins, machined on Each stage of assembly operations allows to achieve the set task - the minimum weight of the product, high accuracy of the mutual arrangement of the seats for the equipment, along with ensuring thermal connections between the equipment, mechanical strength, rigidity and multiple assembly and disassembly of the product.

Claims (3)

1. A method for assembling the supporting structure of a small spacecraft, which consists in the fact that the body is assembled on the base, the base is closed with milled plates attached to it, characterized in that on the base made in the form of a cone made of composite material containing a metal base plate , the upper frame and mounting brackets, perform machining of the planes and holes of the base plate, the upper frame along the ± Z axes, then install the plates along the ± Z axes, also mechanically process and fix the plate along the -Y axis and the plate along the -X axis , then the brackets are mounted along the + X axis and the honeycomb panel is installed. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that titanium bushings are installed and locked in the holes of the plates, and the plates are fixed using titanium fasteners. 3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that after the plates are installed along the ± Z axes, along the –Y axis and the plates along the –X axis, the seating surfaces for the equipment are machined.

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