The enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry (eXTP) is an international cooperation flagship mission, equipped with four kinds of instruments, including 9 SFA (Spectroscopic Focusing Array) telescopes, 4 PFA (Polarimetry Focusing Array) telescopes, 6 WFM (Wide Field Monitor) cameras, and 40 LAD (Large Area Detector) modules. These payloads overall require about 11.5m2 for mounting on the same side of the satellite, with high alignment requirement between lines of sight of each instrument to guarantee the effective area and response performance of scientific payload, which is the most important driver for the satellite mechanical design. At the same time, the mirror assemblies and cameras of SFA and PFA telescopes are installed separately on the satellite, relying on the satellite structure to ensure the relative position accuracy. There are also factors such as payload field-of-view, sun shield, antenna accommodation, mechanical property to be taken care of in the satellite configuration design. According to the characteristics of payloads, an integrated configuration and structure design of eXTP satellite is proposed, with a high-rigid optical module providing large area for payload optics accommodation, a central cylinder as the primary force-taking structure of the satellite, a service module for platform equipment accommodation, and a detector module equipped with cameras of SFA and PFA. This paper introduces the mechanical design and analysis of eXTP satellite. The feasibility and performance of configuration and structure design are verified by simulation analysis.
The enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry Observatory (eXTP) is a flagship international collaboration mission led by Chinese Academy of Sciences, with a large contribution from more than 20 European institutes. eXTP mission is designed to study the equation of state of ultra-dense matter under extreme conditions of strong density, gravity and magnetic field. The satellite carries four main instruments, including the Spectroscopy Focusing Array (SFA), the Large Area Detector (LAD), the Polarimetry Focusing array (PFA) and the Wide Field Monitor (WFM), enabling simultaneous spectral-timing-polarimetry studies of celestial sources in the energy range from 0.5-30 keV. The satellite will fly at a near-zero-inclination Low Earth Orbit, and is featured with long-time steady high-precision coaxial pointing, near realtime burst alert distribution, and follow-up maneuver capabilities. This paper describes the primary mission requirements and constraints, and presents an overall mission analysis including orbit analysis, pointing strategy, and board-ground communications, etc. The preliminary design of eXTP satellite is also introduced, including satellite overall configuration, observation modes, avionics architecture and development plan.
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