Design and manufacturing of lauch support test set for Arirang-3

Korea Aerospace Research Institute launched Korea's multi-purpose satellite, Arirang-3, on May 18, 2013. Arirang-3 has been performing its mission successfully. A Launch Support Test Set (LSTS) was used for the setting of the final satellite launch configuration and to monitor satellite status under the harsh launch environment. The LSTS starts its function several hours before launch by supplying electrical power to the satellite. After the powering up, the setting of the final launch configuration and the monitoring are conducted sequentially. Then the battery is continuously charged until about ten minutes to lift-off. The mission of LSTS ends with lift-off. The LSTS has been used from the Arirang-1 program to the Arirang-3 under severe launch environment in order to support successful launch. The LSTS is installed in the space for Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE). Generally the launcher does not supply enough space located in the launcher or on the bunker under the launcher for EGSE movement and installation. So the LSTS has to be a compact size in order to handle easily and has optimized electrically. It was verified during the last satellite program that the LSTS requires several improvements in software and hardware. The LSTS for Arirang-3 has several upgrades compared to its predecessors. One is the use of a mountable controller, another is the backup power off function, and the third is the development of easily recognizable and changeable software. The others are introduced in this paper.