Instituto Pedro Nunes Teams Up with INEGI in ESA Partnership to Develop Innovative Bi-Axial Tension Machine
General
Space
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Instituto Pedro Nunes (IPN), in collaboration with the Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (INEGI), has been selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) to implement a groundbreaking project. This initiative focuses on the development, design, and manufacturing of an innovative bi-axial tensioning equipment, a pivotal step towards advancing European capabilities in space technology.
The primary objective of this partnership is to enhance the characterization of metallic meshes crucial for large deployable reflectors (LDR), thereby supporting ESA's mission to strengthen European autonomy and reduce dependence on external suppliers.
The bi-axial tensioning equipment currently under development aims to provide comprehensive testing conditions for metallic meshes, yielding valuable data and insights into their behaviour under various tension states.
ESA states: "The production of such a novel test fixture will enable European suppliers to rapidly develop metal mesh material. The upcoming Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer (CIMR) mission will be the first fully European LDR to fly in space. This will hopefully be the first of many European missions that will use this metal mesh technology”.
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Collaborating closely with ESA's Antenna and sub-mm wave section, the project integrates innovative solutions into the design, representing a pioneering approach to the tensioning process.
IPN brings to this partnership its extensive expertise in Product Assurance, ensuring the delivery of hardware and referring documentation compliant with the highest standards, equivalent to flight hardware.
IPN acknowledges the significance of this project in further solidifying IPN's role in providing essential services to key players in the space sector.
This partnership between Instituto Pedro Nunes and INEGI represents a significant stride towards advancing European capabilities in space technology and underscores Portugal's growing prominence in the global aerospace industry.
In addition to IPN and INEGI, the project "BATMAN - Bi-Axial Mesh Tensioning Manipulator for RF Measurement of Mesh Samples" also involves collaboration with the German company Large Space Structures GmbH.
Instituto Pedro Nunes (IPN), in collaboration with the Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (INEGI), has been selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) to implement a groundbreaking project. This initiative focuses on the development, design, and manufacturing of an innovative bi-axial tensioning equipment, a pivotal step towards advancing European capabilities in space technology.
The primary objective of this partnership is to enhance the characterization of metallic meshes crucial for large deployable reflectors (LDR), thereby supporting ESA's mission to strengthen European autonomy and reduce dependence on external suppliers.
The bi-axial tensioning equipment currently under development aims to provide comprehensive testing conditions for metallic meshes, yielding valuable data and insights into their behaviour under various tension states.
ESA states: "The production of such a novel test fixture will enable European suppliers to rapidly develop metal mesh material. The upcoming Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer (CIMR) mission will be the first fully European LDR to fly in space. This will hopefully be the first of many European missions that will use this metal mesh technology”.
Collaborating closely with ESA's Antenna and sub-mm wave section, the project integrates innovative solutions into the design, representing a pioneering approach to the tensioning process.
IPN brings to this partnership its extensive expertise in Product Assurance, ensuring the delivery of hardware and referring documentation compliant with the highest standards, equivalent to flight hardware.
IPN acknowledges the significance of this project in further solidifying IPN's role in providing essential services to key players in the space sector.
This partnership between Instituto Pedro Nunes and INEGI represents a significant stride towards advancing European capabilities in space technology and underscores Portugal's growing prominence in the global aerospace industry.
In addition to IPN and INEGI, the project "BATMAN - Bi-Axial Mesh Tensioning Manipulator for RF Measurement of Mesh Samples" also involves collaboration with the German company Large Space Structures GmbH.
