Spacecraft Assembly

LAMP, Star Trackers and More...

March 20, 2008

In the last week, we have mechanically integrated the Star Trackers, the Ka-band modulator, and the LAMP instrument onto the Orbiter. We electrically integrated the Instrument Module and the LAMP instrument. In parallel, the High-Gain Antenna System team has made good progress on integration and preparation for environmental testing. The Solar Array System team has started assembling the hardware on to the solar array panels. And the mechanical team completed the modal survey of the Structural Verification Unit. The modal survey is used to correlate the structural model with reality, and the model is used to predict the loads that structural and electronic components will see in flight.

The mechanical team carefully moves LAMP into position on the instrument module during mechanical integration. You can see the red cover over the LAMP aperture (in the center of the photo), the scaffolding we use to access higher parts of the spacecraft (on the left side), and the instrument module (on the right side of the photo). On our team members: the suits keep our Orbiter clean, and the wrist straps prevent buildup of electric charge which could damage sensitive electronics.

  The Propulsion System | Ka-band communications system