Description

A prominent aspect of FINCH’s attitude measurements are through the utilization of it’s sun sensors. This trade is concerned with choosing an apt sun simulator to simulate space sunlight in order to test the effectiveness of FINCH’s sun sensors.

Requirements

The sun simulator must be:

• Similar spectral range and intensity as the sun.
• Illumination area large enough to cover as much of the chassis as possible. (30cm diameter)
• Should be a steady-state simulator to avoid interruptions.
• It should ideally have a low collimation angle (dispersion of light rays) since sunlight has a collimation angle of 0.5 degrees. Lower collimation angles result in maintained intensities over longer distances.

Image from https://g2voptics.com/angle-of-emission/

• CONCERNS
  • The sun sensor may only detect space sunlight so the sun simulator must be AM0 grade. Cost effective models would have a smaller coverage thus the entire chassis would not experience the sunlight.

Criteria

Order of importance:

Intensity/AM grade

Illumination Area

Cost

Collimation Angle

Options

Most sun simulators in the industry use a xenon-light source due to the similarities in intensity and spectral composition to the sun. However, there are many types of sun simulators that vary in cost and effectiveness.

*DOES NOT account for power or safety costs.