The carbon fibre structure for the extreme ultraviolet imaging spectrometer on the Solar-B satellite

The Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) is a core instrument on the Japanese Solar-B mission and is due for launch in the summer of 2006. EIS is a 3.2 in long telescope employing grating optics and a pair of charge coupled device imaging cameras working in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) region in two separate wavelength bands between 170-210 and 240-290 angstrom. To house all the telescope subsystems, a novel carbon fibre reinforced plastic structure was developed in collaboration with McLaren Composites Limited (UK) to meet a set of the demanding performance requirements in terms of dimensional stability, rigidity, and structural cleanliness as well as being able to survive the harsh launch environment of the Japanese M-V rocket. The final design was based on a honeycomb panel structure using stiff carbon fibre laminates. This case study describes some of the design challenges that were overcome for this project to produce the engineering, mechanical, and thermal models. Particular attention is given to the cleanliness control strategy to preserve the EUV optical throughput, the method of attachment to the spacecraft, and of optical subsystems as well as the instrument thermal design.