When NASA needed antenna actuators and controllers for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), the Motion Control division of Aeroflex in Hauppauge, N.Y., answered the call.
Aeroflex’s solar array and high-gain antenna actuators and controllers enable the smooth motion of the spacecraft’s solar panels and high-gain antenna.
The actuators employ Aeroflex zero-clogging brushless DC motors and multi-speed resolvers. Moreover, they are driven by an FPGA-based, four-channel, radiation-hardened controller from Aeroflex. The company’s Microelectronics Solutions division provided most of the radiation-hardened components and the circuit card assembly for the application.
The company’s devices were used aboard the MRO in its recent Mars orbit insertion burn, during which it continuously gathered images of the Martian surface. For more information, visit www.aeroflex.com.
