Flatness measuring of satellite antennas under thermal loads using photogrammetric system

In this paper, photogrammetry was introduced to measure the reflecting surface flatness of a satellite antenna sub array, which was under thermal loads. A full-field displacement was obtained, the distribution of which was in accord with the finite element analysis (FEA) result. To evaluate the measurement accuracy of the photogrammetric system, the height of a thin steel plate was measured by both the photogrammetric system and a three-coordinate measuring system. The error between these two measuring methods was tested as 0.693%. This paper provided a new flatness measuring method of satellite antennas under thermal loads with a high degree of accuracy, and applied it on a satellite antenna sub array. Photogrammetric system would provide constructive references for structure design and optimization of satellite antennas.