Solar Beam Uniformity Measurement System

Solar beam uniformity measurement is performed for finding uniformity of 4m dia. The Solar beam is generated with the help of 10 nos. of Xenon arc lamps. This is carried out in preparation for the Thermal Balance Test (TBT) on Satellites and their Appendages. The objective of the measurement system is to find out the uniformity of the solar beam within its specified limits of the reference plane of the Chamber. X and Y-axis scanning on a Beam plane methodology are used for taking the data in different positions of the reference plane. This uniformity information is base for designing the Thermal sub-system as it directly impacts the functionality and accuracy of the Thermal design of the Spacecraft [3]. This paper presents the design and implementation of a solar beam uniformity measurement system at Large Space Simulation Chamber (LSSC), U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), Bangalore.