First Photos of
Japanese LDREX-2 Antenna Deployment Released by JAXA
(16 October 2006) The piggyback
antenna demonstrator carried on Arianespace's successful October 13 mission is
shown in photos taken after its deployment on Ariane 5's upper
stage.
The images were recorded by cameras mounted on the launch
vehicle, and were down-linked to the Malindi tracking station in
Kenya.
(courtesy: JAXA)
LDREX-2 is shown deployed in this photo of the sub-scale antenna reflector demonstrator. The auxiliary payload was installed on a ring-shaped platform called ASAP, which is designed to accommodate small supplemental payloads for Ariane 5 flights. LDREX-2 was located at the base of the launcher's payload "stack," and was unfurled after the deployment of the mission's DirecTV 9S and Optus D1 primary payloads. Also visible in the image lower right corner of this image is the cone-shaped interface adapter on which the Optus D1 satellite was installed.
(courtesy: JAXA)
A side view of LDREX-2 shows the antenna
reflector in profile. In its stowed configuration on Ariane 5's ASAP mounting
structure, the antenna demonstrator was 1.9 meters long and 60 centimetres
wide. When deployed, it had a diameter of 6 meters. Developed by NEC Toshiba
Space Systems for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), LDREX-2 is a
1/25th scale version of the full-size lightweight antenna reflector to be used
on Japan's ETS-8 engineering test satellite. LDREX-2 occupied four of the eight
mounting positions on Ariane 5's ASAP platform: two were used for the antenna
structure, while two more were filled by a pair of accompanying electronic
units and the cameras.
(source: Arianespace)