The First Round Result from the TianQin-1 Satellite

TL;DR

The TianQin-1 satellite's first experiment demonstrated key performance metrics in residual acceleration, thruster resolution, noise levels, and temperature stability, validating its technology for future gravitational wave detection missions.

Contribution

This paper reports the first experimental results from TianQin-1, showcasing its residual acceleration, thruster performance, and noise characteristics, advancing space-based gravitational wave detection technology.

Findings

Residual acceleration around 1e-10 m/s^2/Hz^{1/2} at 0.1 Hz

Thrust resolution of 0.1 μN and noise of 0.3 μN/Hz^{1/2} at 0.1 Hz

Residual noise with drag-free control at 3e-9 m/s^2/Hz^{1/2} at 0.1 Hz

Abstract

The TianQin-1 satellite (TQ-1), which is the first technology demonstration satellite for the TianQin project, was launched on 20 December 2019. The first round of experiment had been carried out from 21 December 2019 until 1 April 2020. The residual acceleration of the satellite is found to be about $1\times10^{-10}~{\rm m}/{\rm s}^{2}/{\rm Hz}^{1/2}$ at $0.1~{\rm Hz}\,$ and about $5\times10^{-11}~{\rm m}/{\rm s}^{2}/{\rm Hz}^{1/2}$ at $0.05~{\rm Hz}\,$, measured by an inertial sensor with a sensitivity of $5\times10^{-12}~{\rm m}/{\rm s}^{2}/{\rm Hz}^{1/2}$ at $0.1~{\rm Hz}\,$. The micro-Newton thrusters has demonstrated a thrust resolution of $0.1~\mu{\rm N}$ and a thrust noise of $0.3~\mu{\rm N}/{\rm Hz}^{1/2}$ at $0.1~{\rm Hz}$. The residual noise of the satellite with drag-free control is $3\times10^{-9}~{\rm m}/{\rm s}^{2}/{\rm Hz}^{1/2}$ at $0.1~{\rm Hz}\,$. The noise level of the optical readout system is about $30~{\rm pm}/{\rm Hz}^{1/2}$ at $0.1~{\rm Hz}\,$. The temperature stability at temperature monitoring position is controlled to be about $\pm3~{\rm mK}$ per orbit, and the mismatch between the center-of-mass of the satellite and that of the test mass is measured with a precision of better than $0.1~{\rm mm}$.