project PACS Grating Drive Mechanism

PACS Grating Drive Mechanism for HERSCHEL

AMOS has been awarded by ESA to design and manufacture the PACS Grating Drive Mechanism. PACS embarked on-oard the HERSCHEL spacecraft launched by an ARIANE V in 2007.

The Grating Assembly consisted of a flat 320×80 mm2 ruled grating, its positioning mechanism and its launch-lock. The grating is actuated by a cryogenic motor with a resolution of a few arcsec and will be installed into the PACS focal plane unit.

Conception and design has been realised to meet severe requirement for an on-board experiment working at cryogenic temperatures. The “Grating Assembly” is strongly lightweighted (3,77 Kg) and composed of Stainless Steel as well as Aluminium 6061T6.