The country’s largest satellite assembly kit. Polish companies involved in ESA project
A set of 13 MGSE (Mechanical Ground Support Equipment) has been manufactured for the Euclid mission organized by the European Space Agency. At the end of January, the last devices will be transported to Italy, where the assembly of the probe will take place.
MGSE devices serve m.in. to precisely move the satellite in roties in order to provide access to technicians. They also allow to transport the satellite to the comor test and place it in the payload bay of a launcher. MGSE production and satellite assemblyow are great engineering challenges, because almost every satellite is unique. These structures weigh from several hundred kilogramsoin up to several tons and consist of thousands of parts and kilometeroin cables.
SENER Poland’s role in the Euclid mission was to design, manufacture and test thirteen devices to support the assembly of the large satellite, which weighs 2.3 tons. The company carried out this project on behalf of Thales Alenia Space Italy, head of theoof the mission contractor. SENER Poland is an engineering company, so it does not have its own manufacturing facilities and relies on commonohe network partnerow. In total, for the MGSE project for the Euclid probe, the company coohe company has worked with 18 Polish companies, whoore produced components, tested their strength and was responsible for logistics.
In total, SENER Poland will supportohe company works with 50 partners from all over the country. These are specialized, experienced companies thatore have so far supplied products for the aerospace, automotive or railroad sectors. SENER Poland transfers to them in the form of orders and ordersowien a significant portion of the acquired contractow (e.g. In another project, IBDM, it will be about 40 percent of the.) and share knowledge about the specifics of the space industry, thusob making it easier for more Polish companies to acquire international customers on their ownoin this sector.
– For most of our partnerow we were the first company in the space sector thatohe company is turning to themoforce. It happens that after learning from us how this industry works, Polish companies begin to operate in it independently. They gain knowledge, learn the exacting requirements and complex procedures governing the space industry. Thanks to wspoln addition, the experience they have gained on projects for the ESA also makes them more reliable for subsequent clientsoin the sector – mowi Aleksandra Bukała, General Director of SENER Polska.
– We produced the first equipment for the space industry 10 years ago, but only wspohe cooperation with SENER Poland has made production for this sector a significant and growing part of our business. Space projects are very demanding, but we like such challenges and are able to meet them thanks to our experienced team and top-of-the-line machines obrobicultural and measuring. I can confidently say that with SENER Poland we have created an advanced, exemplary model for the cooThe MGSE system was developed thanks to the cooperation ofolnie important in such technologically difficult projects as space projects – reveals Marek Bujny, CEO of Ultratech.
– The MGSE project for the Euclid probe was a major technological challenge, but thanks to wspohanks to the cooperation of both parties and UZBI’s 25 years of experience in manufacturing welded structures and pressure parts for the energy industry, we were able to deliver an unprecedented and impressive set of equipment. An additional value for our company has been to increase the level of quality assurance, whichore results from the requirements of the space industry – admits Tadeusz Szwajewski, owner of the UZBI company.
The production of the Euclid satellite assembly equipment kit is an important step in the development of theoj satellite competence and technology, whichore are a priority enshrined in the draft National Space Program. It is worth mentioning that in Europe only a few companies design specialized equipment for satellite integrationow.
The European Space Agency’s Euclid mission aims to understand why the Universe is expanding at the rates we are seeing. The answer to this question is to be provided by the probe’s research instruments, whichore will allow to look at the picture of the Universe from 10 billion years agooin years.
