At the end of last week, preparations for integrating MXT and ECLAIRs onto the PIM were completed: electrical and mechanical disconnection of MDPU/UGTS computers, panel relocation, disconnection of flight harnesses...
This week, on Monday, ECLAIRs was placed on the PIM and on Tuesday its integration was finalized. On Wednesday, the MXT instrument was placed on the PIM, and on Thursday an alignment measurement was carried out to ensure that MXT was perfectly aligned with the satellite's optical axis.
Last weekend, the French team went to see an acrobatics show "ERA 2" at the Shanghai Circus. It was both impressive and poetic.
Last week, the French instrument qualification models and their computers were disassembled and packed away. Testing is now continuing on the flight models. MXT and ECLAIRs were switched on simultaneously for the first time. Soon the integration of the French instruments on the satellite will begin. They will then join the Chinese payload instruments, VT and GRM, which are already assembled on the PIM. During the weekend, the French team visited the old Shanghai and in particular the Jing'an temple.
In the forefront, some of the Chinese colleagues in front of the VT and GRM instruments integrated on the PIM. In the background, the qualification models.
The electronic boxes of the two French instrument computers: ECLAIRs (UGTS box) and MXT (MDPU boxes) were attached to the PIM panels (Payload Interface Module, between the instruments and the satellite) and the connection with the instruments was tested. In parallel, on the mechanical side, rehearsals of the instrument integration activities were carried out with the qualification model of the satellite platform and the structural and thermal models of the instruments. On Sunday, the French team visited the city of Suzhou, known for its Tiger Hill and its leaning pagoda, nicknamed the Chinese Tower of Pisa.
Video report recorded in the SVOM integration room at IAM CAS in Shanghai.
Week of 27 March: the ECLAIRs and MXT instruments were taken out of the transport boxes and placed on mechanical supports. The electronic boxes of the two computers were tested on their own, then connected to ECLAIRs and MXT: "everything is ok". Checks were carried out to verify the mechanical interfaces of the French instruments with the PIM (Payload Interface Module, between the instruments and the satellite). This ensures that ECLAIRs and MXT are aligned on the same optical axis. On Sunday, the French team discovered the city of Shanghai and in particular People's Square with its cherry blossom trees.
The two instruments ECLAIRs and MXT, together with part of the French team, have arrived at the integration site, at the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IAMCAS).
The French instruments ECLAIRs and MXT as well as the equipment necessary for the integration activities have left CNES for Shanghai.
