Development of On-Board Tilt Mirror Calibration Mechanism without Holding and Release Mechanism

The on-board tilting mirror calibration mechanism has a mechanical driving part that helps to achieve the main functional modes of deployment and stow when calibrating a spaceborne imaging sensor. In general, it is necessary to consider a holding and release device in the mechanism design, to secure the structural safety of the mechanical driving part in severe launch environments. However, in the present study, we proposed a novel design strategy based on mass balancing, to guarantee mechanical safety on the driving part of the tilt mirror mechanism, although the implementation of the holding and release mechanism was not considered in the design. The effectiveness of the proposed design was experimentally verified via launch vibration and life cycle tests. The test results demonstrated that the mechanism fulfills all the required functions, and the design approach proposed in this study is effective for ensuring mechanical safety on the driving part of the tilting mirror mechanism in severe launch vibration environments.