Year: 2016
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: The Gaia all-sky astrometric survey is challenged by several issues affecting the spacecraft stability. Amongst them, we find the focus evolution, straylight and basic angle variations Contrary to pre-launch expectations, the image quality is continuously evolving, during commissioning and the nominal mission. Payload decontaminations and wavefront sensor assisted refocuses have been carried out to recover optimum performance. An ESA-Airbus DS working group analysed the straylight and basic angle issues and worked on a detailed root cause analysis. In parallel, the Gaia scientists have also analysed the data, most notably comparing the BAM signal to global astrometric solutions, with remarkable agreement. In this contribution, a status review of these issues will be provided, with emphasis on the mitigation schemes and the lessons learned for future space missions where extreme stability is a key requirement.
Source: TNO Repository
Authors: Mora, A., Biermann, M., Bombrun, A., Boyadjian, J., Chassat, F., Corberand, P., Davidson, M., Doyle, D., Escolar, D., Gielesen, W.L.M., Guilpain, T., Hernandez, J., Kirschner, V., Klioner, S.A., Koeck, C., Laine, B., Lindegren, L., Serpell, E., Tatry, P., Thoral, P.
Institutions: European Space Astronomy Centre, Airbus (France), Royal Observatory, European Space Research and Technology Centre, Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, Altran (France), European Space Agency, Technische Universität Dresden, Lund University, European Space Operations Centre
Language: English
Subfield: Instrumentation
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3106069874