AEROSPACE INDUSTRY
UPDATE
October 2018
McIlvaine Company
First UK Satellite Test Facility
Three companies have been awarded contracts totaling £19 million for the
construction of a major infrastructure for the National Satellite Test Facility
(NSTF) in Oxfordshire, UK.
Established at the Harwell Space Cluster in Oxfordshire, South East England, the
NSTF is built and operated by the Science & Technology Facilities Council’s
(STFC) RAL Space on behalf of the UK government.
There are estimated to be 3,500 to 10,000 satellites due to be launched by 2025.
To capitalize on this opportunity, the UK needs a world-class central facility
with access to a comprehensive set of satellite test capabilities.
The three successful contractors will supply the large space test chamber,
vibration facility, a combined electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and antenna
measurement system
The contracts are the initial steps in meeting the UK space industry’s need for
a set of co-located, world-class facilities for environmental testing of space
payloads and satellites.
The three successful contractors will supply the large space test chamber,
vibration facility, a combined electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and antenna
measurement system.
Satellite test facilities at this scale, in one location, do not currently exist
in the UK. Once operational in 2021, the NSTF will provide the space sector
across the UK with all the major testing facilities they need under one roof,
without incurring expensive international shipping costs.
The NSTF will expand and complement the existing RAL Space facilities at the
heart of the Harwell Space Cluster.
Sean Stewart, NSTF project manager, RAL Space, said: "Alongside the existing RAL
Space assembly, integration and validation facilities, the NSTF will put all the
test equipment needed by industry and academia in one place and accessible to
everyone. Awarding these contracts is one of the early and hugely significant
milestones towards building the NSTF.”
The large space test chamber will be built by Angelantoni Test Technologies and
delivered in six large loads to be assembled onsite at the NSTF.
With an internal, usable size of seven-meter diameter by 12-metre long, the
chamber will be the largest of its kind in the UK and amongst the giants of
Europe.
The chamber has a temperature range of 95K to 400K, providing the conditions
needed to test a variety of complex science missions as well as commercial
satellites for Earth orbit.
A consortium led by NSI-MI Technologies LLC will provide the combined
electromagnetic compatibility and antenna measurement system. This facility will
provide an electrically clean environment so that a satellite's electromagnetic
emissions can be accurately measured.
It will also contain a planar near-field scanner to measure the performance of
antennas used for communications between the satellite and ground stations.
Team Corporation will build the vibration facility, capable of testing
satellites up to 7 tons using two electro-dynamic shakers. To realistically
simulate the mechanical loads experienced during a rocket launch, one shaker
will operate in the vertical plane (Z axis), while the other will operate
horizontally (X and Y axes). Each shaker is capable of developing 222 kN (50,000
lbs. force) of thrust.
These major facilities will be joined by capabilities for testing for center of
gravity and moments of inertia, pyro-shock and acoustic testing.
The UK government is investing £99 million to build the NSTF as part of the
Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to support UK businesses and academia as they
bid for more national and international contracts to build bigger and more
technologically advanced satellites.
The main contractor for the construction of NSTF is Mace Group. Construction of
the actual building is due to start in November 2018 and the build program will
run through to the spring of 2020.
McIlvaine Company
Northfield, IL 60093-2743
Tel:
847-784-0012; Fax:
847-784-0061
E-mail:
editor@mcilvainecompany.com
Web
site:
www.mcilvainecompany.com