Thermal-vacuum and vibration test campaigns that led to the OUFTI-1 nanosatellite being fully qualified by ESA for launch and operation in Earth orbit

OUFTI-1’s test campaigns were divided into two phases. The goal of Phase 1 is to demonstrate that the different functionalities of the satellite work as intended. The goal of Phase 2 is to subsequently demonstrate that the satellite can withstand the launch into orbit, and then work properly in the conditions of space. The corresponding tests thus involve both thermal-vacuum environmental tests (in appropriate test chambers) and vibration tests (on appropriate vibration pods). The conditions simulated during these tests are as close as possible to those that the satellite will encounter during its mission, covering as many cases as possible, amid uncertainties, since neither the launcher nor the orbit were known prior to the tests. Both phases involve the flight model (FM), in accordance with the so-called "protoflight" approach.