TAI is proud to announce we have concluded testing on the copper thermal straps, adapter rings and evaporator plates being delivered to OHB* for the DLR's EnMAP mission. This set of custom strap assemblies was designed by our team to cool the three star tracker systems mounted on EnMAP, and is our second delivery to the program (in 2015, TAI provided Kayser-Threde with prototype and spaceflight model (FM) Graphite Fiber Thermal Straps for another optical component on the craft).
*Work completed for OHB Systems AG, prime contractor for EnMAP who is under contract to the German Space Agency DLR with funding from the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie) under reference number 50 EP 0801.
3 of the custom CuTS® and multiple adapter plates being prepped for thermal cycling.
Straps and one adapter plate post thermal conductance test at TAI (Test Chamber 1).
Custom CuTS® post-stiffness test.
The Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program (EnMAP) has been conceived by Germany’s DLR space administration in order to gather data on our evolving use of Earth.
On the side of data generation, the goal of the program is to collect hyperspectral images of the Earth’s surface, essentially taking pictures in over 200 ‘colors’ ranging from the visible to the infrared spectrum, while still ensuring a relatively high ground resolution of 30 m. These images then allow the program’s scientists to compare them with spectral characteristics of different molecules, extracting information on the chemical composition of the surveyed cities, farmlands, oceans and other areas.
Through the following data processing, the groundbreaking imagery of the EnMAP spacecraft will be applied to investigate a variety of urgent issues, including:
- Climate change impacts and measures
- Water availability and quality
- Changes in land use and land cover
- Availability and use of natural resources
- Biodiversity and ecological stability
- Natural disasters and risk assessments.
TAI is a proud partner of, and supplier to, OHB Systems, Kayser-Threde, and DLR, and we are thrilled to have the chance to be a part of this important mission (stay tuned for our video blog covering EnMAP's launch in 2019).