Speed regulators
SENER develops speed regulators for spacecrafts and instruments. Among these, it has a range of regulators for the mechanism of controlled deployment of satellite appendages; a mechanism developed and classified by the company some years ago.
This system, actuated by torsion springs, includes the deployment regulator (DR) to cancel the end-of-run shock. The regulator is based on the gradual melting of a material with low melting point, arranged in a cylindrical shape in a sealed cavity which also contains a tab that transmits the heat to the material with low melting point. The tab, together with the inner wall of the cavity, rotates as the material changes state in contact with the hot tab. The speed of rotation can be adjusted by selecting the amount of power supplied to the material per unit of time.
SENER has recently designed a new deployment regulator for a lower torque (MDR), suitable for appendages of mini-satellites, and another with a significantly higher actuating torque (DR50). The latter will be used in the controlled deployment of the GAIA thermal panel.
