SPACE
Our team has an in-depth and broad range of experience in space applications. With an understanding of how to optimize materials for the exacting requirements of extreme environments, our team can find ways to maximize efficiencies in qualification and production to meet and exceed your requirements.
LAUNCH VEHICLES
Types of Space Products
SPACECRAFT & PAYLOADS
Images Courtesy Blue Origin and Airbus.
Our Core Competencies
SERVICES
- Design and Development
- Ply Design
- Finite Element Analysis
- Materials Qualification
- Prototyping
- Qualification Testing
- Load Frame Testing
- CTE Testing
CONTRACT READY
- AS9100D and ISO9001:2015 Certified
- 5S+2 Factory
- Competitive DCAA-Approved Rates
- Robust Supply Chain
- Significant Cold Storage and Supplies Onsite
- Off-the-shelf Near Zero CTE Product In House
Equipment
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- Autoclave – 14’L x 6’D
- Precision Flat Curing Platen – 77.5”x174”
- Oven Curing
- Laser Projection/Ply Placement
- Leica Laser Tracker
- Romer Absolute Arm
- Calibrated Granite and Assembly Tables
- Load Frame Testing
- CTE Testing
- Off-the-shelf and built to order
- M55J Fiber/Cyanate Ester Resin and other space-ready material systems
- Near Zero CTE (can choose slightly positive or negative)
- High Tg
- Low outgassing
- Low moisture uptake
- Raw materials also available to purchase
First Mode/NASA Psyche Probe Enclosure
This deep space optical communication (laser) aperture cover assembly saved significant mass while retaining the customers preferred method of aperture cover deployment. By selecting a hybrid structure, the customer acquired certain operational benefits but took on extra complexity due to the inherent CTE variations between metallic and composite materials, further complicated by an extremely tight schedule.
Satellite Imaging Optical Metering Structure
Near zero CTE precision optics for space applications have been prohibitively expensive for commercial ventures. Some of the materials that would make the program possible did not have processing and structural data. We found solutions with new composite materials being developed to support lower cost solutions.
Smallsat Launch Adapter Structure
This launch adapter manifold mounts 16 small sat deplorers to the launch vehicle. The challenge was to create structure sufficiently stiff to meet minimum natural frequency requirements and shock loads. Fabrication challenges related to core shaping meant creating specialty core forming tools, validating, and implementing a new process.
Satellite Datalink 2.4 Meter Dimensionally Tunable Reflector
The customer requested a large (2.4 meter) reflector with a high degree of accuracy (RMS target of <0.003”). Additionally the reflector also required a back-up structure than enabled a deformable design through the use of an active tensegrity structure utilizing titanium-composite struts to achieve the correct shape adjustments. The results were a measured 65.2 dB gain vs. baseline/target of 57.7 dB.
