Nebula Public Library

The knowledge bank of ESA’s R&D programmes

Format: 2023
Format: 2023
Format: 2023

31 results found
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Lessons learnt on the use of grease lubricants for applications in space mechanisms confirm their high chemical stability on long-term storage (LTS), due to intrinsic inertness of their fluorocarbon-based components which could be affected only via catalytic effect of metal compounds. What is observed even in widely used space-qualified greases is physical delamination leading to separation of the base oil and the solid filler. This delamination affects the lubricant?s viscosity and dielectric properties.

Germany

TDE

T124-701QE

MATERIALES GmbH

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Uncontrolled spacecraft re-entry requires the satellite to sufficiently demise in order to meet the casualty risk requirement. Heat generated during re-entry is not adequate to sufficiently demise some spacecraft equipment.
- Equipment (e.g. Large mechanisms, magnetorques, optical equipment) is hard to demise without big design changes as the functionality requires using metals with high melting temperatures.
- Earlier break-up of the interface of equipment to the structure, harness and pipework is beneficial for demisability.

Germany

TDE

T711-601MS

HTG- HYPERSCHALL TECHNOLOGIE Goettingen GmbH

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Combining all the features in a position encoder such as high-resolution, absolute, compact, high-speed is a challenge today. An optical absolute position encoder technology has the potential to combine all these attractive features. Nanometric resolution can be established using dedicated optical sensor, a transmissive scale, LED illumination, without the need for optics (shadow-imaging). Optic-less shadowimaging permits compact design and major cost reduction.

Switzerland

GSTP

G617-188MS

MICOS ENGINEERING GMBH

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Despite different attempts performed in the past two decades, Europe is lacking a competitive product for a large reflector with the requested TRL level to embark on a commercial program. Need is identified to cover antenna applications from 4 up to 18 meter and for frequencies from UHF up to Ka band.. American companies are leaders in this domain and are commercially dominating the worldwide market.

Italy

TDE

T515-301MS

THALES ALENIA SPACE ITALIA SPA

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Deployable and inflatable heatshield concepts have a very high potential to extend European capabilities for future Martian lander missions. Such concepts would allow to approach landing zones in the Martian highlands which cannot be reached with current state-of-the-art entry, descent and landing (EDL) technology, mainly due to the very low density of the Martian atmosphere. Alternatively, a deployable or inflatable heatshield concept could allow for an increased landed mass in the Martian lowlands. ;
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United Kingdom

TDE

T721-615MT

VORTICITY LTD

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Vibration is one of the main issues when it comes to the design of space hardware and as such, it should be considered in the early phases of spacecraft design. When this factor is overlooked, a later identification of vibration and shock issues causes a deep impact on the performance of the spacecraft. Often the only solutions available, such as a dedicated damper, are detrimental for design, cost and schedule of the mission.
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Germany

GSTP

GT1A-007MS

SPACE STRUCTURES GMBH

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N/A

France

GSTP

G617-241TAca

SOTEREM SA

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Surface functionalisation (SF) by e.g. laser texturing, roughness modification, surface energy modification has been reported in the literature to be able to reduce coefficient of friction of steel contacts and reduce their wear by several orders of magnitude. Several universities and institutes in Europe have been developing methods of SF for application in tribology.
 

United Kingdom

TDE

T715-604MS

ESR TECHNOLOGY LTD

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Louvers are active thermal control elements that are typically placed over external radiators to be able to tune heat rejection from typically a factor 1 (fully closed) to 5 (fully open). The most commonly used louver is the bimetallic, spring-actuated, rectangular blade louver also known as venetian-blind louver. One of the known drawbacks of this technology is the mass and volume it requires, in particular with regards to the deployment of blades.

Switzerland

TDE

T721-502MT

CSEM SA. Centre Suisse dElectronique et de Microtechnique SA

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Several developments are on-going and targeting an accuracy above 10 bits, however no development and no product in the market is currently covering low accuracy. There is a clear need for this type of sensors as for many applications that need low or medium accuracy sensors, cost is normally an important factor. To fit this type of applications, current mechanisms use potentiometers, which are easy to integrate and cheap compared to other products, however, they are prone to noise and limited life because of their technology, based on sliding electrical contact.

Spain

TDE

T715-603MS

EMBEDDED INSTRUMENTS AND SYSTEMS SL

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