A SPACE QUALIFIED MECHANICAL SPEED REGULATOR FOR DEPLOYABLE DEVICES THAT PROVIDES SPEED CONTROL WITHOUT ELECTRICAL POWERING OR COMMANDING

摘要

Based on the EADS CASA Espacio experience on flight deployment mechanisms, conventional spring motor appears like the most light and reliable method to perform one-way deployments, but this kind of deployment requires a controlled final speed to avoid the use of dampers and/or similar devices to minimize end-of-travel shocks. In order to avoid sophisticated mechanisms based in centrifugal or electromagnetic principles to get a fully controlled deployment speed EADS CASA Espacio has qualified a simple and reliable mechanical speed regulator without thermal and/or electrical powering or commanding. This Mechanical speed regulator (Patent N~(er): P9600684 - 27/03/00) has been developed and qualified in the frame of several space programmes: MINISAT Satellite (May 1997), DESAT project for HIS.PASAT C Satellite (1998), and ASAS and MIRAS deployable antennas (1999 - 2000) with a regulation capability up to 10 Nm. An extended qualification test campaign was performed to increase the functional environmental range.