Protecting satellites during travel on Earth.
NASA satellites for deep space missions will be protected by a container from Beyond Gravity during travel on Earth. The interplanetary NASA mission Europa Clipper will use Beyond Gravity's multipurpose trolley.
Reusable container for three NASA missions
Since 2022 this container enables ground handling of satellites on Earth for up to three NASA missions, including the deep space mission Europa Clipper, the Psyche asteroid mission and the NISAR earth observation mission from NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation ISRO. The transport container protects the precious satellites during their travel from the production facility to the spaceport and is equipped with a special damping system and climate control. “Satellites are highly sensitive and expensive products. Our customized containers make sure that this precious cargo is protected in the best possible way during transport,” says Dominik Inschlag, Director Sales Thermal & Mechanisms at Beyond Gravity. “To receive an order directly from NASA is a great acknowledgement of our expertise”, he adds. Containers from Beyond Gravity ordered by satellite manufacturers have already been used for various NASA missions.
More than 60 containers delivered
In total Beyond Gravity so far has delivered more than 60 customized spacecraft containers to governmental customers like ESA, NASA and to commercial customers like Ball Aerospace or Maxar. “Our containers are used for a broad range of missions, from science missions, earth observations satellites to commercial satellite constellations,” says Dominik Inschlag. From the more than 60 delivered containers a third went to the USA. “The United States are a very important market for us. The new orders are a further step to expand our business in the USA.”
NASA’s Europa mission will use multipurpose trolley
A multipurpose trolley from Beyond Gravity will support the interplanetary NASA spacecraft Europa Clipper during integration. The trolley can rotate and tilt the spacecraft during integration. The Europa Clipper spacecraft will conduct a detailed survey of Jupiter’s moon Europa to determine whether the icy moon could harbor conditions suitable for life. The spacecraft is scheduled to launch in autumn 2024. In total, Beyond Gravity delivered more than 80 Multi-Purpose Trolleys to institutional and commercial customers in Europe and USA.