402
12 Integration and Assembly Technology of Lunar Lander
12.2 Development Status
Along with continuous development of modern advanced manufacture technology,
there was rapid development of spacecraft system assembly. The development
level of spacecraft system integration and assembly technology was reflected in
advanced design mode of concurrent design, advanced automated assembly and
digital assembly technology, which was developed all over the world.
1. Concurrent Design Technology
Concurrent design technology was an important application of concurrent engineering in spacecraft system assembly. Concurrent design was a mode of parallel
and integrated design of product and relative processes (including manufacture and
integration). In traditional serial development process, problems or deficiencies in
the design were found in processing, integrated and assembly, then the design and
processing was modified to reintegrate and assemble. In contrast, the design, process
and manufacture are combined together in concurrent design, and the computer and
Intranet/Internet was applied to operate in parallel so as to greatly reduce the manufacture cycle. In the design phase of spacecraft system integration and assembly,
the assembly process review and design were conducted in parallel, and the problems in design and process were fed back to design department in time, which
could effectively avoid the flow of design defects or assembly process problems into
implementation of spacecraft system integration and assembly. The concurrent engineering design flow was compared with the traditional serial design flow, as shown in
Fig. 12.1, where the significant change was the transformation of the original iterative design-coordination mode into the mode of coordination in design, which could
simplify the intermediate step so as to improve the efficiency of system integration
and assembly [3].
Both research and development of Boeing 777 aircraft and TEAM-X/TEAM-I
in NASA JPL were successful examples of concurrent engineering implementation
in aerospace [4]. According to reports of NASA JPL and ESA ESTEC, because of
application of concurrent engineering technology, the efficiency of spacecraft design
had been improved by 4–10 times. JPL’s working efficiency had increased from the
original one to four spacecraft design to 40–50 spacecraft design per year [5]. ESTEC
completed its tasks scheduled for 6 months in only 6 weeks [6]. In Jan. 1992, the
United States Defense Department’s Missile Defense Agency and NASA began to
discuss plans of Clementine lunar mission. On Jan. 25 1994, the Clementine lunar
probe was launched. It only took 24 months. The application of parallel technology
greatly improved the efficiency of system integration and assembly.
2. Automated Assembly Technology
Along with continuous development of new spacecraft, especially spacecraft with
the large-scale and high-accuracy instrument or mechanism such as large deployable
antennas and space robotic arm, the automated assembly technology was an important solution to improve the assembly accuracy and ensure the assembly safety of
instrument.
12 Integration and Assembly Technology of Lunar Lander
12.2 Development Status
Along with continuous development of modern advanced manufacture technology,
there was rapid development of spacecraft system assembly. The development
level of spacecraft system integration and assembly technology was reflected in
advanced design mode of concurrent design, advanced automated assembly and
digital assembly technology, which was developed all over the world.
1. Concurrent Design Technology
Concurrent design technology was an important application of concurrent engineering in spacecraft system assembly. Concurrent design was a mode of parallel
and integrated design of product and relative processes (including manufacture and
integration). In traditional serial development process, problems or deficiencies in
the design were found in processing, integrated and assembly, then the design and
processing was modified to reintegrate and assemble. In contrast, the design, process
and manufacture are combined together in concurrent design, and the computer and
Intranet/Internet was applied to operate in parallel so as to greatly reduce the manufacture cycle. In the design phase of spacecraft system integration and assembly,
the assembly process review and design were conducted in parallel, and the problems in design and process were fed back to design department in time, which
could effectively avoid the flow of design defects or assembly process problems into
implementation of spacecraft system integration and assembly. The concurrent engineering design flow was compared with the traditional serial design flow, as shown in
Fig. 12.1, where the significant change was the transformation of the original iterative design-coordination mode into the mode of coordination in design, which could
simplify the intermediate step so as to improve the efficiency of system integration
and assembly [3].
Both research and development of Boeing 777 aircraft and TEAM-X/TEAM-I
in NASA JPL were successful examples of concurrent engineering implementation
in aerospace [4]. According to reports of NASA JPL and ESA ESTEC, because of
application of concurrent engineering technology, the efficiency of spacecraft design
had been improved by 4–10 times. JPL’s working efficiency had increased from the
original one to four spacecraft design to 40–50 spacecraft design per year [5]. ESTEC
completed its tasks scheduled for 6 months in only 6 weeks [6]. In Jan. 1992, the
United States Defense Department’s Missile Defense Agency and NASA began to
discuss plans of Clementine lunar mission. On Jan. 25 1994, the Clementine lunar
probe was launched. It only took 24 months. The application of parallel technology
greatly improved the efficiency of system integration and assembly.
2. Automated Assembly Technology
Along with continuous development of new spacecraft, especially spacecraft with
the large-scale and high-accuracy instrument or mechanism such as large deployable
antennas and space robotic arm, the automated assembly technology was an important solution to improve the assembly accuracy and ensure the assembly safety of
instrument.