The World Space Week aims to celebrate the science and technology that contributed to the betterment of humanity and its impressive achievements.
Who better to celebrate alongside it than Smiths Interconnect, we've always been at the cutting-edge of space application technology and are proud of the heritage that defines us. We've grown alongside the aerospace market, and as it soared to ever greater heights, so did we. 80 years of innovation, application, and unbelievable advancement has meant that World Space Week is a time that Smiths Interconnect should celebrate its own achievements.
Qualification and Test Lab
Since December 2019, our 300-square-metre Qualification and Test Lab in this site has boasted multiple forms of rigor testing technology that can simulate spaceflight, mission launch, or re-entry aspects. It has given us the equipment to ensure our product's quality, safety, and reliability for use in future ventures to the stars. Some of this testing includes:
- Mechanical Shock testing. We can test a device's capacity for sudden and extreme acceleration or deceleration, like those seen in a space launch and atmosphere re-entry.
- Multipaction testing. We can simulate the 'multipactor' phenomenon, where charged particles encounter radio frequency technology, and electron multiplication follows. This can lead to severe damage or destruction of a component. This testing can determine its resistance, allowing for fixes that assure its reliability.
- Vibration testing. This testing is the application of motion to a component to observe its response or degradation over time. The aim is to help detect and identify faults or potential failures.
- EMC and Environmental testing. We can test a component's ability to function in an environment with electromagnetic disturbances. This can be from technology aboard the spacecraft, nearby solar bodies, or space particles. Environmental testing allows for the simulation of a vacuum and conditions encountered in space.
Furthermore, there have been new additions to the Test Lab in the last 24 months:
- An EMC Reverb test chamber for general support of the Asia Space market.
- Additional High-Power RF amplifiers to extend the support offered for lower (200MHz-500MHz) and higher frequency ranges (18GHz-22GHz).
- Upgraded vibration and shock test capabilities with a dedicated vibration test system housed alongside our existing SRS mechanical shock system in a purpose-built sound-reducing room.
- The addition of 3D printers for test fixture development and early NPI mechanical fit assessments.
The existence of these kinds of in-house facilities is quite rare. Not many organizations have such easy access to this type of equipment. Our Dundee Test Lab allows for quicker, faster, and more accurate product development. So, though we may not be a direct runner in this space race, we're the invaluable supplier of the shoes that see them sprinting!
That's why space week is so exciting. It's a celebration of aerospace advancements and those who are invaluable to its evolution. Not only can we be proud of our past for our contributions, but for the present and future too. What our Dundee Test Lab provides means Smiths Interconnect continues to supply metaphorical space shoes to our customers, meaning one small step for Smiths Interconnect and many more giant leaps for mankind!
Cosmic crash may be our proudest space mission yet
Having long been an enabling partner for space voyages, and carefully cultivated a reputation for safety and reliability as well as performance, we’re now part of the first mission where a deliberate full-scale cosmic crash was the primary objective. It’s not as crazy as it seems. NASA’s £240m Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission is part of the exciting international effort to explore ways in which we might in future defend ourselves from asteroids or comets on a collision course with Earth.
Learn MoreGiant Leap Towards Mars
From semaphore to the electric telegraph, advances in communications have always underpinned, and been driven by, the successful exploration and settlement of new territories. This has never been truer than for Mankind’s bid to probe into the newest frontier of Mars.
Learn MoreNASA Contractors Build on Shuttle Legacy for Artemis Moonshot
Smiths Interconnect supplies connectors and cables for multiple industries; for Artemis it is providing the data network running through the Orion spacecraft. Prieto said that they are taking what they are learning from Orion and applying it to other customers that they are working with. "It's the same way, really, with all of our technologies. We build on what we know and make it better," she said.
Learn MoreOptical interconnect within space vehicles in geostationary orbit
Leveraging its expertise in embedded optical communication modules for defense and aerospace, Smiths Interconnect offers radiation-resistant optical transceivers aimed at the space market with the introduction of the SpaceABLE™ and SpaceCONEX™ “radiation resistant” line of products.
Learn MoreOptical interconnect within space vehicles in low-Earth orbit
When components, like embedded optical transceivers are deployed in space on a satellite or on a space vehicle, they are exposed to both protons and heavy ions from cosmic rays and solar flares. This is why, unlike most electronic equipment designed for terrestrial use, hardware deployed at LEO (low-Earth orbit: altitudes between 500 and 2000 km), must be radiation resistant.
Learn MoreSpace connectors get tough for NASA's Robotic Spacecraft
The most mission-critical of aerospace systems are the ones that journey into space. Smiths Interconnect's microwave RF components are used in the data and control transmission systems of the Parker Solar Probe, a NASA robotic spacecraft. In 2024, it is expected to approach to within 3.83 million miles of the centre of the sun, achieving a top speed of about 430,000 miles per hour. That’s fast enough to get from Washington D.C. to Tokyo in under a minute!
Learn MoreLearn more about Smiths Interconnect's Space Heritage