ESA adhesive

Researchers at the European Space Agency (ESA) have found out new ultra-stable adhesive that could play a key role in assembling rock-solid structures for space missions.

A project under the ESA’s Basic Technology Research Programme has developed a silicon-based adhesive that is insensitive to temperature and moisture, and allows building larger stable structures.

The resulting ceramic bonding is claimed to offer composite structures of several metres rigid to a few thousandths of a millimetre.

ESA said: "Such stability will be essential for new classes of space mission, such as multi-satellite telescopes spaced hundreds of kilometres apart, which could combine their light to create images at a resolution equivalent to a single giant telescope, providing they maintain precise alignment."

Incorrect material selection could result in deviation of a satellite’s structure leading to improper alignment or sudden damages.

Optical, radio and other precision instruments where rigidity plays a prominent role are vulnerable to such challenges.

"Such stability will be essential for new classes of space mission, such as multi-satellite telescopes spaced hundreds of kilometres apart."

ESA materials engineer Laurent Pambaguian said: "Finally, a European adhesive was identified, with some manufacturing improvements needing to be performed.

"A new adhesive was baselined, with the possibility of adding ceramic fillers to optimise its compatibility with bonded materials, while keeping its moisture insensitivity, tailoring its characteristics to our requirements."

The adhesive was developed during the ESA’s GOCE gravity-mapper project.

Pambaguian said: "The adhesive used to bond the honeycomb to the panels was sensitive to moisture-induced distortion.

"For GOCE, this has been a challenging matter – in the room where the sandwich panels were assembled, temperature and humidity conditions were closely controlled to minimise the moisture uptake – but it left a problem for the construction of future space structures, which will need to be larger while also possessing increased stability."

Image: Future multi-satellite mission require ultra-stable structures. Photo: courtesy of Nasa / ESA.

Defence Technology