The space industry is consistently pushing the limits of innovation, driving advancements that often have far-reaching impacts and benefits across numerous sectors.
According to a report by the World Economic Forum, as demand for satellite and rocket-based technologies continues to increase, the global space economy is anticipated to reach a value of $1.8 trillion by 2035.
New Space has revitalized the space industry with a fresh approach, drawing in major technology companies and small startups, all eager to innovate.
In recent years, space has come alive with projects focused on everything from lunar landings, Earth Observation (EO), and deep space exploration, and with venture capitalists eager to fund such projects, the industry is set to continue rapid growth.
This new era is marked by faster project timelines as companies rush to prove concepts and generate revenue, significantly cutting the development time from idea to launch.
Yes, the industry is evolving quickly, opening new opportunities for innovation – and as the industry moves toward next-generation satellites, launch systems, and multi-orbit operations, it’s crucial that component manufacturers are able to meet the distinct demands of satellite operators and space users.
New Space requires
new components
New Space is driving innovation and change across the satellite industry. Satellites today are designed to meet multiple use cases and are equipped with software defined payloads that are configurable and steerable as required by the specific application.
Components are the lynchpin of satellite manufacturing and perform key roles within the satellite itself. Servo drives, for instance, are essential for motion control, encoders and servo motors are essential for robotics all are a key component in space systems and are critical requirement of Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) satellites.
Space engineers need carefully sized actuators and drives that are best matched to the required application, whether GEO satellite, a lunar landing, or NGSO satellite for a LEO mega constellation.
This was the driving force behind the development of the SuperNova servo drive that was launched at the Space Comms Expo in March. The TRL9 SuperNova is designed for LEO motion-controlled applications and is a powerful yet compact solution that can control most types of space-rated motor.
We’re proud to say that it is one of the smallest servo drives for space applications on the market today.
There are newer variations now rolling out: The COSMO, which is half the size and rated at 2 x 5A servo channels, as well as the PULSAR and AURORA Stepper that drives all variations of the same TRL9 hardware platform design.
Increased demand
for COTS components
As the space industry has expanded, there’s been a huge increase in the number of launch providers in operation, such as SpaceX and RocketLab, Orbex and Firefly, to name but a few, all making space far more accessible and affordable.
As a result, space companies are now more willing to take risks and adopt new technologies. This shift has led to the increased use of Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components, which offer quicker turnaround times and lower development costs when compared to traditional, in-house methods.
Olsen’s TRL9 SuperNova servo drive.
While traditional manufacturers have historically preferred in-house development to maintain control over intellectual property and minimize risk, COTS components have become a vital part of New Space’s rapid growth.
As providers of COTS servo-drives with radiation-hardened components for LEO and GEO applications, we’ve noticed a big increase in interest in COTS components this year. These ready-made solutions offer faster lead times, guaranteed performance, and lower development costs.
Additionally, COTS components can be customized to meet specific mission requirements without the extensive time and resource investment that in-house development requires.
COTS is increasingly viewed as a flexible and efficient solution, allowing manufacturers to meet the demands of a fast-paced and competitive environment while maintaining high standards of quality and traceability. They also offer a fast delivery proven delivery option and low/zero non-recurring engineering (NRE) costs.
Supporting space
exploration
In recent years, we’ve greatly expanded our product range for the space industry, ensuring that we can support a variety of space applications, including exploration and rover missions.
One such mission is the lunar rover project under development by the University of Manchester, which is backed by the Enabling Technologies Program. The initiative will see an innovative, jumping robot system being developed that can thrust upwards, descend, and self-right.
The robot will be used to explore the lava tubes under the surface that could, potentially, be used for future human habitation.
Olsen was thrilled to secure its first UK Space Agency funding as part of this project, to create a Proof of Concept (PoC) demonstrator for the lunar rover and stage 1 has been completed and delivered.
Another exciting exploration mission that we’re involved in is NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem), which launched in February of this year.
By contributing components to the PACE spacecraft, we are helping to advance the mission’s goal of studying how phytoplankton diversity affects human life. It’s projects such as this that provide a deeper understanding of our environment, that reveal just how vital space exploration is to improving life on Earth.
eVTOL and heavy
drone market
Olsen is, of course, not only a manufacturer and provider of components for the space industry, but also for other industries as well, such as defence, aerospace and, more recently, the eVTOL (Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing) market.
We’re involved with an ambitious and ground-breaking project with Vertical Aerospace, a global aerospace and technology company pioneering electric aviation with zero operating emissions, for a safer, greener way to travel.
Olsen’s tilt actuators and blade pitch actuators and drive electronics and CAN software are powering the primary flight control actuation systems in Vertical Aerospace’s prototype, pre-production aircrafts for its VX4 aircraft program.
In September, the VX4 prototype — which is a piloted, four passenger, eVTOL aircraft — successfully completed its first flight while loosely tethered to the ground.
We’re looking forward to building on the experience we’ve gained while working with Vertical Aerospace as we pursue new opportunities within the eVTOL market in the future.
We also exhibited at the Electric & Hybrid Aerospace Technology Symposium in Frankfurt in October as well as the airship conference in Zeppelinheim with many new Lighter than Air (LTA) pre-production prototypes in development and coming on stream. The eVTOL / LTA / HAPS (high altitude platform station) industries are certainly ones to watch.
In addition to the eVTOL industry, the growing, heavy drone market is another key area of interest for us. We have wide experience in the sector providing solutions for applications as varied as static, dynamic and endurance testing rigs, 6DOF flight simulation motion platform solutions, plus the flight control actuators, camera gimbals, to name but a few.
We enjoyed seeing the various new drone applications being showcased at the Farnborough Air Show 2024 during the summer of this year. It was also highhly interesting to see the latest technology and innovations in the sector on display at the DroneX Tradeshow and Conference in London, where, for the first time, our company exhibited.
Final
thoughts
2024 has been a big year for Olsen. We’ve celebrated 20 years of since establishing the business, we have grown as a company, and expanded our product range and added more engineering professionals to the team.
We’ve also has a real breakthrough year in the space sector. As component manufacturers working across such a diverse range of industries, we’ve had the pleasure of helping to deliver some truly fascinating projects this year and can’t wait to see what next year brings.
One thing we can be certain of is that we’ll continue to take a holistic, best practice / best solution approach to new applications, using our technical expertise and years of experience to ensure that we provide solutions that meet industry needs now and for the future whilst creating advanced highly paid employment in the northwest of the United Kingdom.
http://www.olsenactuators.com