Space
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Actuators for Space Applications: State of the Art and New Technologies
19 June 2023
Actuators in space are broadly used to operate satellitesâ platform and payload devices. Despite their common utilisation, actuators still represent critical subsystems as their failure might often lead to severe, when not catastrophic, effects on the spacecraft operations. Environmental conditions to which actuators are exposed in space are generally not favourable: operating temperature ranges and deep vacuum are certainly the most critical ones.
ABC Rotor blades: design, manufacturing and testing
19 June 2023
ABC is the acronym for ââActive Blade Conceptââ and represents a 38% Mach scaled model rotor of the Advanced Technology Rotor (ATR) of Eurocopter Germany (ECD, [4]). In contrast to the ATR the model rotor is fully articulated. Specifically, it is equipped with a flap at the trailing edge of each blade, which is driven by a piezoelectric actuator. The ABC project is a cooperation between the French ONERA and the German DLR within the research concept ââThe Active Rotorââ.
Limited Angle Torque for fine angular positioning
19 June 2023
A Limited Angle Torque (LAT) actuator has been designed by Cedrat upon request of the European Space Agency (ESA) for fine pointing applications based on gimbals assembly. The required angular stroke for this application is 13°. Other required features are controllability, high resolution, no micro vibration. Therefore the selected concept is a coil-redounded electromagnetic actuator using Lorentz force. The functional test shows that the generated torque is linear until 200mN.m, but torques up to 300mN.m are achievable.
Space compliant mobile voice coil actuator
19 June 2023
A moving coil actuator for high precision positioning and compatible with space technology specifications has been designed and successfully tested. General space technology requirements are the use of no degassing material, no lubrication, low mechanic time constant, low electrical power consumption, and thermal energy evacuation through radiating and conducting exchanges (no convection because of operation in vacuum environment). These specifications have been accounted in the design, the realisation and the test of a successful prototype: Thanks to a good design of thermal drains, the actuator presents a high force versus weight ratio.
Contactless Position sensors for space mechanisms based on eddy current sensing
19 June 2023
For more than 20 years, CTEC has been involved in various space missions, delivering products designed for severe environment conditions (vibrations, shocks, vacuum, humidity, wide thermal range including cryogenic). Eddy current sensor (ECS) technology, using printed circuit board (PCB) for printed coils, provides both a good resolution/accuracy and a good robustness against temperature variations.These sensors are available commercially off the shelf (COTS).
Space Tribometers: Design for Exposed Experiments on Orbit
12 March 2012
Eight pin-on-disk tribometers have been made for testing materials in space on board the International Space Station. They will be exposed directly to the low earth orbit (LEO) environment on board the ââMaterials on the International Space Station Experimentsââ platform where they will experience extreme conditions including atomic oxygen, ultrahigh vacuum, radiation (including UV radiation), and thermal ranges from -40 to 60 C.
