LISA Pathfinder drag-free control and system implications

Fichter, Walter; Gath, Peter; Vitale, S.; Bortoluzzi, D.

doi:10.1088/0264-9381/22/10/002

Cited by 82 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The drag-free and attitude control system (DFACS) [14,15] will embody the controls needed to realize this scheme. Amongst other duties, the DFACS aims at:…”

Section: Controlsmentioning

confidence: 99%

LISA Pathfinder: the experiment and the route to LISA

Armano¹,

Benedetti²,

Bogenstahl³

et al. 2009

Class. Quantum Grav.

116

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LISA Pathfinder (LPF) is a science and technology demonstrator planned by the European Space Agency in view of the LISA mission. As a scientific payload, the LISA Technology Package on board LPF will be the most precise geodesics explorer flown as of today, both in terms of displacement and acceleration sensitivity. The challenges embodied by LPF make it a unique mission, paving the way towards the space-borne detection of gravitational waves with LISA. This paper summarizes the basics of LPF, and the progress made in preparing its effective implementation in flight. We hereby give an overview of the experiment philosophy and assumptions to carry on the measurement. We report on the mission plan and hardware design advances and on the progress on detailing measurements and operations. Some light will be shed on the related data processing algorithms. In particular, we show how to single out the acceleration noise from the spacecraft motion perturbations, how to account for dynamical deformation parameters distorting the measurement reference and how to decouple the actuation noise via parabolic free flight.

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“…The drag-free and attitude control system (DFACS) [14,15] will embody the controls needed to realize this scheme. Amongst other duties, the DFACS aims at:…”

Section: Controlsmentioning

confidence: 99%

LISA Pathfinder: the experiment and the route to LISA

Armano¹,

Benedetti²,

Bogenstahl³

et al. 2009

Class. Quantum Grav.

116

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“…It is one of the central subsystems of the Pathfinder payload and essential in achieving the required mission performance. In science mode its sensor output together with the output from capacitive sensors serves as error-signal to the Drag Free Attitude and Control System (DFACS) [14] which controls the space-craft using micro-Newton thrusters as actuators. While the motion of the two test-masses and their attitude is constrained in some directions, the remaining six degrees of freedom (in a very simplistic model) allow a nearly free evolution of the test-mass motion.…”

Section: The Lisa Pathfinder Missionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digital Laser Frequency Control and Phase-Stabilization Loops in a High Precision Space-Borne Metrology System

Hechenblaikner¹,

Wand²,

Kersten³

et al. 2011

IEEE J. Quantum Electron.

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Abstract-We report on the design, implementation and characterization of fully digital control loops for laser frequency stabilization, differential phase-locking and performance optimization of the optical metrology system on-board the LISA Pathfinder space mission. The optical metrology system consists of a laser with modulator, four Mach-Zehnder interferometers, a phase-meter and a digital processing unit for data analysis. The digital loop design has the advantage of easy and flexible controller implementation and loop calibration, automated and flexible locking and resetting, and improved performance over analogue circuitry. Using the practical ability of our system to modulate the laser frequency allows us to accurately determine the open loop transfer function and other system properties. Various noise sources and their impact on system performance are investigated in detail.

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“…The remaining six DoF are suspension controlled, i.e. the test mass follows the spacecraft using an electrostatic actuation system, typically with a very low bandwidth (Fichter et al 2006). If the suspension bandwidth was relatively high, this would correspond to an accelerometer along the suspension controlled axes.…”

Section: Background and Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification Algorithms for Micro-Propulsion System Parameters Using Drag-Free Test Masses

Ziegler¹,

Fichter

2010

Space Sci Rev

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Propulsion system characteristics determine to a large extent the dynamic behavior of a spacecraft. For many future science missions technologically novel micro-propulsion systems are required. In order to support its characterization, in-orbit experiments and subsequent data processing on ground can be an appropriate add-on to ground-based laboratory measurements. In this paper two identification methods for three major thruster parameters, thrust gain, thrust direction, and lever arm, are presented and compared. They are based on measurements of a precise inertial instrument that consists of two test masses, whose degrees of freedom are "mixed" with respect to its control principle, i.e. they are either drag-free controlled (free-flying) or suspension controlled (accelerometer mode). Using drag-free coordinates is a novel approach. It is related and compared to the more conventional approach using "accelerometer-like" measurements.

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LISA Pathfinder drag-free control and system implications

Cited by 82 publications

References 2 publications

LISA Pathfinder: the experiment and the route to LISA

LISA Pathfinder: the experiment and the route to LISA

Digital Laser Frequency Control and Phase-Stabilization Loops in a High Precision Space-Borne Metrology System

Identification Algorithms for Micro-Propulsion System Parameters Using Drag-Free Test Masses

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