The Stanford Gravitational Reference Sensor S. Buchman, B. Allard, G. Allen, R. Byer, W. Davis, D. DeBra, D. Gill, J. Hanson, G.M. Keiser, D. Lauben, I. Mukhar, N. A. Robertson, B. Shelef, K. Sun, S. Williams W.W.Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-4085, USA 1
Mission Drag-Free Requirements 10-7 TRIAD: 5x10-11 m/s 2 RMS over 3 days TRIAD 10-8 Specific Force Noise (m/s 2 /rt Hz) 10-9 10-10 10-11 10-12 10-13 10-14 10-15 EX- 5 Frequency (Hz) GRACE GP-B DRS LISA Minimum Goal 10-4 10-3 10-2 10-1 2
Heritage Inertial Sensor based on Stanford experience: TRIAD (Stanford/APL, 1972) GP-B (Stanford, 2004) Earlier sensors used spherical test masses Fewer degrees of freedom to control Proposed LISA sensor uses a faceted test mass Control position of laser beam on test mass Allows validation at picometer level Test mass is 4-cm cube of Au/Pt alloy Dense, to reduce motion in response to forces Low magnetic susceptibility, used on TRIAD Position sensing and charge management design derived from GP-B TRIAD sensor- 1972 3 GP-B Flight Gyroscope
GP-B Launch: April 20, 2004 4
GP-B Technologies 30 years of GRS technology development for TRIAD and GP-B are a very significant stepping stone. GP-B has showed on-orbit validation of key GRS technologies. Drag-free Control 10-10 m/s 2 level Electrostatic Positioning System 0.45 nm rms position noise Charge Control System < 5pC control 5
Drag Free Performance Gyro3 pos (nm) Gyro3 CE ( N) SV trans force (mn) 20 0 Prime and Backup Drag Free operations, GP-B Gyro3 (VT=142273900) Xsv Ysv Zsv -20 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 0.1 0 Xsv Ysv Zsv Suspension ON Suspension OFF -0.1 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 5 0 Xsv Ysv Zsv Accelerometer mode Prime mode Normal gyro suspension -5 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 seconds Positioning performance Drag-free: 5.0 nm RMS Backup drag-free: 0.6 nm RMS Normal suspension: 6 nm peak from gravity gradient. 6
GP-B Gyroscope Suspension Gyro #4 Digital Levitation 7
Position Measurement Performance G3 X pos (nm) 4 2 0-2 -4 Rep. position profile in science mode (not drag free), GP-B Gyro3 (VT=142,391,500) -6 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 seconds Representative gyro position trace showing non dragfree gravity gradient effects in Science Mission Mode Mag (nm) 10-8 10-9 10-10 10-11 Single sided FFT, GP-B Gyro3 (VT=142,391,500) Measurement noise 0.45 nm rms Noise floor 10-12 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 Freq (Hz) 8
GP-B Charge Management Gyro #1 UV System Calibration 9
GP-B Charge Management Gyro #1 Charge Control (mv) 10
GRS Overview Salient Features Test mass noise < 2.8x10-14 m/s 2 / Hz, 1 mhz to 30 mhz Position measurement to < 3 nm/ Hz, 1 mhz to 30 mhz Accelerometer mode Validation of thruster performance Force noise diagnostics Validation of drag free environment models DRS chassis and interferometer Gravitational Reference Sensor Technologies Test mass is 4-cm cube of Au coated Au/Pt alloy Beryllia housing with plated Au electrodes Vacuum system supporting 10-5 Pa EOL Caging system capable of supporting launch loads and re-caging Capacitive sensing system providing < 3 nm/ Hz measurement Electrostatic forcing system providing 2x10-7 m/s 2 peak acceleration BeO Housing 11 GRS Test Mass Prototype
Test Mass Magnetic Susceptibility AuPt Alloy Magnetic Susceptibility 0.00E+00-5.00E-06-1.00E-05-1.50E-05-2.00E-05-2.50E-05-3.00E-05 60 65 70 75 80 63% Au WIlliams 70% Au WIlliams 73% Au Engelhard Weight % Au Small Samples Full size TM air vac Eng ICL FullCubeA FullCubeB FullCubeReAnneal FC2A FC2B Eng70IFLNR Eng73IFLNR WAMvacIFLNR Engelhard 73% material is outside current GRS requirement (green line), 2% impact to noise margin. 12
Electrode isolation groove BeO sample end-milled at Axsys. Stepped Precision Alignment BeO Walls. Bulk Precision Alignment Alumina Reference Walls. Precision tooling sphere demonstrated. 7 EM BeO housing walls received 3 weeks early. Alignment performance verified in test. Laser milling demonstrated. All 72 flight BeO blanks delivered by Brush Wellman on schedule. Precision Reference Housing 13
Kelvin Probe Measurements at GSFC: Contact Potential Difference Variations Two coatings studied: gold (Au) and diamond like carbon (DLC), to avoid cold welding when caging 3 mm probe used, 1cm x 1cm area studied Conclusions: DLC essentially as good as Au Both meet requirements DLC/Au/BeO 20 mv pp Au on Alumina 10 mv pp DLC/Au/Ti 20 mv pp data taken in collaboration with Jordan Camp and John Blackwood, GSFC 14
Caging Design Test mass constrained by 6 travel-limited push actuators. Travel overlap = 0.1mm. Static loads taken by 3 pads + pneumatic pressure. Dynamic loads taken by all pads and actuator stiffness. Pads pivot to self-align to TM face. Actuators powered by central pressure supply Plungers normally retracted, receded 0.1mm into housing wall plunger unit: sits on top of pad unit Pads mimic wall properties: BeO, gold and DLC coatings. Pads are self aligning Pad diameter is 5mm Return spring provides uncaging force > 10N 15
Analog Electronics Testing Eight RFB 1.6 boards populated and under test No PCB defects All analog circuits functioning as expected Firmware complete and digital interface tested AD8131 (Ref) RFBv1.6 C&D xmfr RFBv1.6 differential output driver testing shows phase temperature coefficient performance equivalent to the best commercial balanced drivers (e.g. AD8131). 16
Noise Budget Source Requirement (10-15 m s -2 Hz -½ ) CBE (10-15 m s -2 Hz -½ ) Coupled Spacecraft Motion (Sensitive) 14 14 Coupled Spacecraft Motion (Transverse) 3.8 3.8 Coupled Spacecraft Motion (Orientation) 4.5 4.5 ES Suspension Backaction Dielectric Effect Test Mass Charge Variation 10 2.2 10 10 2.2 10 CBE = current best estimate Lorentz Force 1.0 1.0 Magnetic Field Interactions 2.7 5.4 Housing Temperature Gradient 4.0 4.0 Residual Gas Pressure Damping 4.5 4.5 Interferometer Laser Pressure Variation 0.5 2.6 Time Varying Mass Attraction 10 10 Low Frequency Suspension Force 4.5 4.5 Control Force Cross-talk 2.3 2.3 Total Acceleration Noise 24.8 25.2 GRS System Margin 13.0 12.1 Level 3 Requirement 17 28 28
GRS Performance Simulation Results Test Mass Acceleration (m s 2 Hz ½ ) 10-13 10-14 10-3 10-2 10-1 Frequency (Hz) 18
Advanced Concepts - Stanford Single proof mass (PM) per S/C Non constraint GRS Multiple stage disturbance isolation Gravitational sensor separation from S/C Interferometry Measure PM position in housing Use housing for interferometry Fiber utilization Reflective Optics Signal LO GRS with double sided grating for PM and interferometer reference 19
GRS Path to Flight April, 2003 May, 2004 August, 2004 May, 2005 January, 2006 May, 2008 GRS Established Technology Readiness Level 5 GRS Subsystem Critical Design Reviews DRS Critical Design Review GRS Delivered to JPL DRS Delivered to ESA LAUNCH 20