ARIEL bipods technical status and mechanical–thermal performance of flexures

The ARIEL mission's spacecraft employs a bipods structure made of CFRP, titanium, and aluminum to support and thermally isolate the telescope. This paper outlines the current bipod design status at DTU Space. The bipods must combine high stiffness to prevent modal coupling with sufficient flexibility to accommodate thermal distortions. This dual requirement is achieved through cylindrical flexures whose geometry critically affects the mechanical and thermal performance of the bipods. Analysis results evaluating the impact of flexure geometry on stiffness, strength, and thermal conductance are also presented. These results can be used as a guide for future flexure design of optical instrument structures.