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<p>A stable onboard clock is critical for any navigation satellite to work smoothly throughout its projected lifetime. Most GNSS satellites rely on the Rubidium Atomic Frequency standards/clocks (RAFS) for their onboard operations, owing to their overall advantage in terms of size, weight, power (SWaP) and an established space legacy. In this context, a Rubidium (Rb) filled glass bulb glowing inside RAFS, is one of the key components, since it is responsible for both the clock signal generation and detection. It is important therefore to ensure that this Rb filled bulb does not wane during the entire clock/satellite lifetime. Accordingly, for iRAFS, five such Rb filled bulbs were subjected to a Life Test Experiment, in which they were illuminated (burned) under onboard mimicking conditions and tested periodically for their Rb content (mass) deterioration using a Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC). The present paper discusses the findings of this experiment after three years of bulb burning, and throws light on the approximate estimates of the initial Rb consumption and Rb consumption rates inside these bulbs.</p>

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Findings over 3 years of life test on Rubidium bulbs of the indigenous Rubidium Atomic Frequency Standard (iRAFS)

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月30日

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  • Richa Sharma Kesarkar,
  • Mohd Azhar R. Saiyed,
  • Bikash Ghosal,
  • Maulik L. Bhavsar,
  • Shilpi Soni,
  • M. Senthil Kumar

摘要

A stable onboard clock is critical for any navigation satellite to work smoothly throughout its projected lifetime. Most GNSS satellites rely on the Rubidium Atomic Frequency standards/clocks (RAFS) for their onboard operations, owing to their overall advantage in terms of size, weight, power (SWaP) and an established space legacy. In this context, a Rubidium (Rb) filled glass bulb glowing inside RAFS, is one of the key components, since it is responsible for both the clock signal generation and detection. It is important therefore to ensure that this Rb filled bulb does not wane during the entire clock/satellite lifetime. Accordingly, for iRAFS, five such Rb filled bulbs were subjected to a Life Test Experiment, in which they were illuminated (burned) under onboard mimicking conditions and tested periodically for their Rb content (mass) deterioration using a Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC). The present paper discusses the findings of this experiment after three years of bulb burning, and throws light on the approximate estimates of the initial Rb consumption and Rb consumption rates inside these bulbs.