Scientists at the Fraunhofer Space Alliance will present their current projects at the ILA. "The booth is the first joint appearance of our Space Alliance, which started in February 2014," says Thomas Loosen, from the Alliance branch. By working together, the Fraunhofer researchers from different institutes want to take advantage of their potential more completely. The researchers are well connected with each other and with external partners and are pooling their technological diversity in order to develop system solutions for the purpose of space travel.

Predicting the effect of a collision with space debris

The risk for operational satellites of being impacted by small particles is increasing due to the rising amount of Space Debris in Earth Orbits. Even collisions with small particles from sizes of one millimeter upwards can have fatal consequences for satellites. Until recently, it has been almost impossible to predict the probability of specific satellite components failures following such a collision event. In many cases, a piece of space debris penetrates the outer shell of the satellite structure, however has no effect on the functionality of the satellite itself. This is the case as long as the debris fragments do not damage the individual components too severely. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics, Ernst-Mach-Institut, EMI in Freiburg have now developed a software tool that computes the failure probability at the individual component level. "With our software PIRAT, we can realistically predict the probability of failure of an individual components for the first time and demonstrate the effectiveness of improved protection systems," confirms Scott Kempf, project manager at EMI. "The software can also be used by design engineers to establish protection measures for particularly exposed components at an early design stage". The software will be available for licensing from EMI within the next 1-2 months. At the trade fair, the software tool will be demonstrated and satellite components with impact damages will be shown.

Heat effectively dissipated from electronic components

Electronic components – such as computer processors – have to be cooled. This occurs via heat sinks. However, these take up valuable space and increase the weight of the satellite. In the future, these heat sinks will be able to be about 20 percent smaller. This will be made possible by new technology from the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich-Hertz-Institut, HHI in Berlin. "We irradiate a metal surface with a laser beam," explains Dr. Stefan Kontermann from the HHI. "This creates a self-organized structure, which allows the surface to dissipate the heat more effectively." The technology can be implemented on almost all metals and semiconductors. The researchers will be illustrating the effect at the trade fair with the help of a thermal imaging camera.

Off to Mercury

Mercury is a largely unknown planet. Only two American probes were able to collect some data about the planet so far. The BepiColombo mission, conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA) in cooperation with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), will provide new findings. The scientists hope to learn about the magnetic field, the structure and other properties of Mercury – and, as a result, to be able to draw conclusions about how the planet has evolved and how our solar system has emerged. After a flight lasting more than six years, the probes have to withstand extreme temperature changes at their destination. Peak temperatures will be more than 300 degrees Celsius. Cooling ribs made of titanium are to protect the valuable cargo from this heat. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST have coated the ribs with a thin copper layer. The optical components of the telescope and spectrometer – the mirror and grating – have been developed and manufactured by the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in Jena – together with the company Kayser-Threde and the German Center for Aerospace DLR in Berlin.

Free-formed mirror for space

Satellites provide high resolution images of the Earth’s surface and allow Earth observation and weather forecast. In order for the detectors in the satellite to be able to capture the information, metal mirrors with a special range of properties are necessary: the mirrors have to be shaped precisely, and their surfaces must not be too rough. A new method to produce such ultra-precision mirrors comes from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF. The scientists have transferred a known method, Magnetorheological Finishing MRF, from glass mirrors to metal ones. In this way, free-form mirrors up to a meter tall can be processed. The result: they don’t deviate more than one or two tenths of a micrometer from the desired shape. "The precision is similar to other high-resolution, expensive processing techniques. We can create the mirror free-form and smooth the surface during the shaping process. We have been able to expand the scope of application from infrared to visible light, and we even save a step," explains Matthias Beier, a researcher at the IOF.