Session
Session V: Advanced Technologies 1
Abstract
In order to achieve a six-day spacecraft architecture, the assembly, integration & testing (AI&T) of the Satellite Bus could be drastically reduced by stocking component-ready modular panels for assembly. The assembly of the structure itself, however, needs to be accelerated from the typical process of securing panels with dozens of mixedsize fasteners and the associated verification, tooling, and documentation that must also take into consideration the need to pass electrical and thermal connections across panels of the bus. A method for rapidly providing a stiff mechanical attachment across panels of a spacecraft bus, while simultaneously providing electrical and thermal continuity, helps to further realize the goals of Responsive Space (RS). A fastening strategy has been developed for enabling rapid assembly of a spacecraft bus structure using Honeybee’s patented Quick Insertion Nut (QIN) technology. The QINs are embedded in manifolds which reside at each edge inside the spacecraft bus (the manifold includes panel-to-panel electrical interconnects) and together form a skeletal structure for the spacecraft panels. Initial FEA analyses show that a bus construction based on this concept is capable of meeting the natural frequency requirements for a wide array of launch vehicles and that the QINs themselves are capable of withstanding very high tensile loads with positive margins of safety.
Presentation Slides
Rapid Assembly of Spacecraft Structures for Responsive Space
In order to achieve a six-day spacecraft architecture, the assembly, integration & testing (AI&T) of the Satellite Bus could be drastically reduced by stocking component-ready modular panels for assembly. The assembly of the structure itself, however, needs to be accelerated from the typical process of securing panels with dozens of mixedsize fasteners and the associated verification, tooling, and documentation that must also take into consideration the need to pass electrical and thermal connections across panels of the bus. A method for rapidly providing a stiff mechanical attachment across panels of a spacecraft bus, while simultaneously providing electrical and thermal continuity, helps to further realize the goals of Responsive Space (RS). A fastening strategy has been developed for enabling rapid assembly of a spacecraft bus structure using Honeybee’s patented Quick Insertion Nut (QIN) technology. The QINs are embedded in manifolds which reside at each edge inside the spacecraft bus (the manifold includes panel-to-panel electrical interconnects) and together form a skeletal structure for the spacecraft panels. Initial FEA analyses show that a bus construction based on this concept is capable of meeting the natural frequency requirements for a wide array of launch vehicles and that the QINs themselves are capable of withstanding very high tensile loads with positive margins of safety.
