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- The SuperSTAR accelerometer manufactured by ONERA/CNES (France) is a modified version of the ASTRE high precision accelerometer previously flown on different Shuttle-missions (Life and Microgravity Science Mission (STS-78, 1996), Microgravity Science Laboratory (STS-83, STS-94, 1997)) and the STAR accelerometer which will be operated on the CHAMP satellite.
The accelerometer serves to measure all non-gravitational accelerations on the GRACE satellite due to air drag, solar radiation pressure or attitude control activator impulses initiated by the attitude and orbit control system (AOCS). In combination with the sub-mm intersatellite distance observed by the k-band ranging system (KBR) and the accurate satellite position measured by the onboard GPS receiver, the Earth's gravity field can be deduced with unprecedented accuracy.
The measurement principle of the SuperSTAR accelerometer is based on the electrostatic suspension of a parallel-epipedic proof-mass inside a cage. The cage walls are equipped with control electrodes which serve both as capacitive sensors to derive the instantaneous proof-mass (PM) position and as actuators to apply electrostatic forces in order to keep the PM motionless in the centre of the cage. Because the ACC sensor is hard-mounted with the GRACE satellite body, the amount of these control forces in combination with the well known proof-mass can be used to derive the acceleration vector for any moment of time.
The PM has to be positioned very precisely at the Center of Gravity (CoG) of the GRACE satellite to avoid acceleration offsets and measurement disturbances. In order to meet the very high requirements for GRACE gravity recovery this offset shall be measured with an accuracy of 50 µm in all 3 axis and corrected by a Center of Mass Trim Assembly (CMT). The planned resolution of the CHAMP STAR accelerometer is 1 · 10-9 ms-2 integrated over the frequency bandwith of 2 x 10-4 Hz to 0.1 Hz. Its full measurement range is 10-3 ms-2 . Because of the low-vibration design of the GRACE spacecraft and the high temperature stability (below 0.1° Celsius) the SuperSTAR ACC full scale range will be increased to 5 · 10-5 ms-2 . Additional improvements (proof mass offset voltage reduction from 20V to 10V, smaller acceleration bias and bias fluctuations by a factor of 20) increases the GRACE ACC resolution to 1 · 10-10 ms-2 . For the correct interpretation of the ACC measurements the attitude of the ACC will be measured very precisely by a star camera assembly (SCA).
Group: Instrument_Details
Entry_ID: GRACE ACC
Group: Instrument_Identification
Instrument_Category: Earth Remote Sensing Instruments
Instrument_Class: Passive Remote Sensing
Instrument_Type: Magnetic/Motion Sensors
Instrument_Subtype: Accelerometers
Short_Name: GRACE ACC
Long_Name: GRACE SuperSTAR Accelerometer
End_Group
Group: Associated_Platforms
Short_Name: GRACE
End_Group
Group: Spectral_Frequency_Information
Wavelength_Keyword: RADIO
Spectral_Frequency_Coverage_Range: 10-3 ms-2
Spectral_Frequency_Resolution: 2 x 10-4 Hz to 0.1 Hz
End_Group
Online_Resource: http://eospso.gsfc.nasa.gov/eos_homepage/mission_profiles/docs/GRACE.pdf
Online_Resource: http://www.gfz-potsdam.de/portal/
Online_Resource: http://www.gfz-potsdam.de/
Creation_Date: 2013-01-29
Group: Instrument_Logistics
Instrument_Owner: USA/NASA
Instrument_Owner: GFZ Potsdam
End_Group
End_Group
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