Experimental results from the ST7 mission on LISA Pathfinder

Anderson, G. et al. (2018) Experimental results from the ST7 mission on LISA Pathfinder. Physical Review D, 98(10), 102005. (doi: 10.1103/PhysRevD.98.102005)

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Abstract

The Space Technology 7 Disturbance Reduction System (ST7-DRS) is a NASA technology demonstration payload that operated from January 2016 through July 2017 on the European Space Agency’s (ESA) LISA Pathfinder spacecraft. The joint goal of the NASA and ESA missions was to validate key technologies for a future space-based gravitational wave observatory targeting the source-rich millihertz band. The two primary components of ST7-DRS are a micropropulsion system based on colloidal micro-Newton thrusters (CMNTs) and a control system that simultaneously controls the attitude and position of the spacecraft and the two free-flying test masses (TMs). This paper presents our main experimental results and summarizes the overall performance of the CMNTs and control laws. We find the CMNT performance to be consistent with preflight predictions, with a measured system thrust noise on the order of 100     nN / √ Hz in the 1     mHz ≤ f ≤ 30     mHz band. The control system maintained the TM-spacecraft separation with an RMS error of less than 2 nm and a noise spectral density of less than 3     nm / √ Hz in the same band. Thruster calibration measurements yield thrust values consistent with the performance model and ground-based thrust-stand measurements, to within a few percent. We also report a differential acceleration noise between the two test masses with a spectral density of roughly 3     fm / s 2 / √ Hz in the 1     mHz ≤ f ≤ 30     mHz band, slightly less than twice as large as the best performance reported with the baseline LISA Pathfinder configuration and below the current requirements for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna mission.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:Dr. Slutsky was supported by NASA through the CRESST II cooperative agreement CA 80GSFC17M0002. The French contribution to LISA Pathfinder has been supported by the CNES (Accord Specific de projet CNES 1316634/CNRS 103747), the CNRS, the Observatoire de Paris and the University Paris-Diderot. E. Plagnol and H. Inchausp´e would also like to acknowledge the financial support of the UnivEarthS Labex program at Sorbonne Paris Cit´e (ANR-10-LABX-0023 and ANR-11-IDEX-0005-02). The Albert-Einstein-Institut acknowledges the support of the German Space Agency, DLR, in the development and operations of LISA Pathfinder. The work is supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy based on a resolution of the German Bundestag (FKZ 50OQ0501 and FKZ 50OQ1601). The Italian contribution to LISA Pathfinder has been supported by Agenzia Spaziale Italiana and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare. The Spanish contribution to LISA Pathfinder has been supported by contracts AYA2010-15709 (MICINN), ESP2013-47637-P, and ESP2015-67234-P (MINECO). M. Nofrarias acknowledges support from Fundacion General CSIC (Programa ComFuturo). F. Rivas acknowledges an FPI contract (MINECO). The Swiss contribution to LISA Pathfinder was made possible by the support of the Swiss Space Office (SSO) via the PRODEX Programme of ESA. L. Ferraioli is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation. The UK LISA Pathfinder groups wish to acknowledge support from the United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA), the University of Glasgow, the University of Birmingham, Imperial College, and the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA).
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Robertson, Dr David and Ward, Professor Henry and Perreur-Lloyd, Mr Michael and Killow, Dr Christian
Authors: Anderson, G., Anderson, J., Anderson, M., Aveni, G., Bame, D., Barela, P., Blackman, K., Carmain, A., Chen, L., Cherng, M., Clark, S., Connally, M., Connolly, W., Conroy, D., Cooper, M., Cutler, C., D’Agostino, J., Demmons, N., Dorantes, E., Dunn,, C., Duran, M., Ehrbar, E., Evans, J., Fernandez, J., Franklin, G., Girard, M., Gorelik, J., Hruby, V., Hsu, O., Jackson, D., Javidnia,, S., Kern,, D., Knopp,, M., Kolasinski, R., Kuo, C., Le, T., Li, I., Liepack, O., Maghami, P., Malik, S., Markley, L., Martin, R., Marrese-Reading, C., Mehta, J., Mennela, J., Miller, D., guyen, D., O’Donnell, J., Parikh, R., Plett, G., Ramsey, T., Randolph, T., Rhodes, S., Romero-Wolf, A., Roy, T., Ruiz, A., Shaw, H., Slutsky, J., Spence, D., Stocky, J., Tallon, J., Thorpe, I., Tolman, W., Umfress, H., Valencia, R., Valerio, C., Warner, W., Wellman, J., Willis, P., Ziemer, J., Armano, M., Zwahlen, J., Audley, H., Baird, J., Binetruy, P., Born, M., Bortoluzzi, D., Castelli, E., Cavalleri, A., Cesarini, A., Cruise, A.M., Danzmann, K., de Deus Silva, M., Diepholz, I., Dixon, G., R Dolesi, R., Ferraioli, L., Ferroni, V., Fitzsimons, E.D., Freschi, M., Gesa, L., Gibert, F., Giardini, D., Giusteri, R., Grimani, C., Grzymisch, J., Harrison, I., Heinzel, G., Hewitson, M., Hollington, D., Hoyland, D., Hueller,, M., Inchauspe, H., Jennrich, O., Jetzer, P., Karnesis, N., Kaune, B., Killow, C.J., Lobo, J.A., Lloro, I., Liu, L., Lopez-Zaragoza, J.P., Maarschalkerweerd, R., Mance, D., Meshksar, N., MartIn, V., Martin-Polo, L., Martino, J., Martin-Porqueras, F., Mateos, I., McNamara, P.W., Mendes, J., Mendes, L., Nofrarias, M., Paczkowski, S., Perreur-Lloyd, M., A Petiteau, A., Pivato, P., Plagnol, E., Ramos-Castro, J., Reiche, J., Robertson, D.I., Rivas, F., Russano, R., Sopuerta, C.F., Sumner, T., Texier, D., Vetrugno, D., Vitale, S., Wanner, G., Ward, H., Wass, P.J., Weber, W.J., Wissel, L., Wittchen, A., and Zweifel, P.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
Research Centre:College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy > Institute for Gravitational Research
Journal Name:Physical Review D
Publisher:American Physical Society
ISSN:1550-7998
ISSN (Online):2470-0029
Published Online:14 November 2018
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2018 American Physical Society
First Published:First published in Physical Review D 98(10): 102005
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy
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