Development of Fine Pointing Mechanism for Optical Inter-Satellite Communication

Laser-based optical inter-satellite communication equipment permits large-capacity communication, which is essential for future observation satellites that will handle huge amounts of data. Among the key technologies for optical inter- satellite communication equipment are rapid, highly accurate acquisition and tracking technologies for the corresponding satellites. Therefore, the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency are developing a fine pointing mechanism for optical inter-satellite communication. The fine pointing mechanism is designed to be installed in a geostationary satellite, and the design life of the fine pointing mechanism is 15 years. This paper describes the specifications, mechanism, control system, and performance evaluation results of the fine pointing mechanism.