Propellant tanks for rocket stages made of carbon-fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) need to be lined with a metallic coating (called a liner) on the inside to protect the material from aggressive propellant components and to ensure tightness. Until now, these protective layers have been produced in an expensive manufacturing process by forming and welding thin-walled metal sheets.
Additive Space GmbH is developing a thermal spraying process by which metallic coatings can be applied to the inside of the CFRP structure quickly and cost-effectively. The method enables several layers of metals with different material properties to be applied one after the other with the minimum required layer thickness. Apart from the spraying device, which is mounted on an industrial robot, for example, no further devices adapted to the geometry of the respective fuel tank are required.

Benefits:

• Thermal spray process for very thin coating thicknesses (≤ 100μ) with low mass increase
• Cost / effort reduction, since a metal liner does not have to be produced separately
• No geometric specific devices necessary – universal system use
• Moderate development risk through adaptation of an established procedure
• High scalability
• Wide range of applications

The aerospace sector is trending towards small, standardised satellites (CubeSats) that offer affordable access to space. Their standard edge length of 10 cm does present a disadvantage, however, as it significantly limits the missions these satellites can support. To get around these limitations, deployable structures like antennas or sails are being used, that are deployed once a satellite is in orbit. This opens the door to high-performance applications that are typically only possible with large satellites. Initiating this deployment requires special actuators such as hold-down and release mechanisms. Unfortunately, European actuators are too large for this purpose, and American products are subject to export restrictions. To solve this problem Deployables Cubed – a new space company at ESA BIC Bavaria – is developing pin-puller and release nut actuators to ensure Europe’s independence with regard to these small actuators and the deployable structures that they make possible. The company plans to establish for simple, light, and reliable aerospace actuators on the market and offer them to a broad range of customers.

Benefits:

• Nanosize actuator (optimised for cubesat applications)
• Fraction of the cost of existing actuators
• Not subject to export regulations