Monitoring the Shape of Satellite Wing Frame Using FBG Sensors in High Electronic Noise, Vacuum, and −196 °C Environment

In a normal environment on Earth, there are several methods for obtaining the deflection curve of a satellite wing frame, such as the laser method and the electronic resistance strain gauge method. However, none of them are suitable for the outer space environment. Therefore, developing a reliable sensing solution for a high electronic noise, vacuum, and extremely low-temperature environment may be a very challenging task. In this paper, a new fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors method is proposed to meet this harsh environment need. First, hundreds of FBG sensors are pasted onto the surface of a satellite wing frame to detect the strain data. Second, the cubic spline interpolation function, quadratic integral function, and quantic polynomial function are used for the data processing to obtain the shape of the satellite wing frame. Finally, a satellite wing frame is placed in a heat sink to conduct a shape monitoring experiment. Furthermore, a verification experiment in a normal environment shows the reliability of the FBG sensors method. Because the FBG sensors and the supporting equipment are available in the market, this method is a feasible solution for shape monitoring in outer space.