At the end of November 2023, the manufacturing and environmental testing of the protoflight model (PFM) of the thermal infrared imager (TIRI) was completed, marking the completion of the PFM development (Figure 1)! The PFM is covered by black MLI to install on the spacecraft system. The PFM was shipped to the European Space Agency’s (ESA) European Space Technology Research Center (ESTEC) in December, to replace the TIRI Engineering Model (EM) which is now mounted on the Hera spacecraft, and to participate in Hera system tests.
Figure 1: Protoflight model (PFM) of thermal infrared imager TIRI.
Similar to the EM shipment, a commemorative photo was taken with the members of the Meisei Electric TIRI development team, the Hera in-house project team, and JAXA S&MA before the PFM shipment (Figure 2)! This time, the photo was taken outside the clean room, so everyone looks good in the picture. The TIRI PFM, just before it was packed for shipment, is shown in black in the center of the photo.
The TIRI PFM will now participate in the system tests and will be prepared for launch in October 2024. We are planning to build a TIRI flight spare (FS), with continued cooperation in its development.
Figure 2: Meisei Electric TIRI development team and JAXA members in front of the TIRI PFM (in the clean room in the center of the photo) just before shipment ((c) MEISEI ELECTRIC CO., LTD.)
Shimaki, Hera JAPAN
January 17, 2024