Solar simulators for thermal vacuum tests of spacecraft

The reliability of spacecraft is supported on the stage of the ground experimental testing. Therefore, the probability of no-failure operation of spacecraft depends on the test quality. Thermal vacuum tests are one of the main stages of the thermal control system and the spacecraft as a whole. The purpose of thermal vacuum tests is to confirm the thermal state of the spacecraft and thermal characteristics of thermal control system in the conditions near to operational. The main requirement for thermal vacuum tests is imitation of normal operation conditions of spacecraft. Thermal vacuum tests are carried out on special test complexes providing simulation of the external thermal factors, which influences spacecraft at orbital operation. The solar simulator is one of the basic and important elements of these com- plexes. The solar simulator imitates solar impact on spacecraft at orbital operation. One of the basic and most complex elements of these complexes is a solar simulator that simulates a solar impact on the spacecraft at the orbital operation. Solar simulators provide a continuous stream of optical radiation. The spec- tral characteristics simulator must be close to the spectral characteristics of the solar radiation. The purpose of this article is to analyze some solar simulators to select the best construction for further improve- ments aimed at reducing energy consumption exploitation of solar simulator for testing spacecraft and improve the quality of thermal vacuum testing. We describe the basic requirements for solar simulators, the most relevant characteristics of the solar spectrum and intensity in outer space. We made comparative description of the five solar simulators home and foreign production by four key parameters. In this work the possibility of creation and application of the compact solar simulator is being considered. The re- search objective is to develop a compact solar spectrum simulator for increasing the quality of spacecraft thermal vac- uum tests.