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Alenia
Spazio has created a center for the A.I.T. of small
satellites, where the output reached the rate of one
satellite per week.
Located in Rome near other Alenia Spazio production
sites for easy access to consolidated expertise in
specific related disciplines, the plant covers an area
of 6,000 m2 and includes a 4,000 m2
class 100,000 clean room, maintained at a relative
humidity of 55% and a temperature of 20° C.
The layout
of the Alenia Spazio Small Satellite Center is based on
the use of "islands" and working areas where a
series of homogeneous activities can be performed, at
the end of which the rate and quality of output can be
checked.
An advanced data management system allows the real-time
collection and analysis of test results. This approach
has the flexibility to allow the integration of small
satellites for different types of mission.
Each island can be sized autonomously in terms of human
and equipment resources. Through the parallel use of
resources it is possible to ensure the correct
production flow without forming bottlenecks, thereby
keeping production on schedule.
Some islands can work in parallel with each other
reducing product lead-times.
As each island always carries out the same operations,
there is a greater effect of the learning curve and a
reduction in the margin of error.
The flexibility of the island arrangement makes it
possible to minimize disruptions in the production flow
caused by possible malfunctions in the product or the
test equipment.
Two
separate production lines are currently available with
eight islands each for spacecraft and antenna A.I.T.
Satellite Island
1. Propulsion A.I.T.
2. Bus and payload integration
3. Alignment verification
4. Satellite performance test and thermal cycling
5A/B Vibration test and solar array installation and
deployment
6 Mass properties
7 Packing and shipping
8 Troubleshooting
Antenna Island
1a/b Antenna pre-assembly
2a/b Hard-line test
3a Final integration
4a Thermal cycling
5a Vibration test
6a Near-field test range
7a Far-field test range
8a Troubleshooting
The arrangement of the islands and the size of the
equipment are decided on the basis of production flow
simulation. That simulation, which includes a realistic
failure case, allows equipment redundancies and human
resources to be adjusted properly to the actual work
load.
Test Facilities
The Small Satellite Center is equipped with a complete
set of electrical and environmental test equipment able
to check spacecraft and antenna behavior in the real
operative conditions. Most of the equipment is automated
and connected to a data management system to collect and
analyze test results.
The main test facilities are:
- 3 x
3.5 x 2.5 m vacuum chamber for propulsion leakage
tests
- Four 3
x 3 x 4 x 3 m thermal chambers for spacecraft
thermal behavior tests
- 4 m
diameter thermal vacuum chamber for thermal balance
and acceptance tests
- 267 kN
and 160 kN shakers for dynamic tests
- Mass,
Momentum Of Inertia (MOI) and Centre Of Gravity
(COG) determination system with load capacity of
1,600 kg.
- Two 4
x 4 x 4.5 m anechoic chambers for spacecraft
performance tests
- Three
automatic hard-line test facilities equipped with
robots for active antenna electrical tests
- 11 x
11 x 5.8 m near-field test range for active antennas
- 8.5 x
6 x 6 m far-field test range (1:10 GHz) for active
antennas
Data
Management System
A Data Management System has been developed to support
and monitor all production activities.The system is
integrated with the reception, storage test data
analysis, documentation and resource management.
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