Making the IAC2010 a global endeavour
Active Space Technologies joined the 61st International Astronautical Congress held in Prague, Czech Republic...
...from the 27th September to the October 1st with its representatives from Portugal and Germany.
As every year, the International Astronautical Federation together with the International Academy of Astronautics and the International Institute of Space Law (IISL), holds the International Astronautical Congress (IAC), this year the location was “The city of hundreds spires”, Prague, in the center of Europe stretched out to the East, an area in which the involvement in the space sector has been arising during the last years.
About 300 exhibitors, 50 stands totaling 1250 square meters and 3131 attendees, these are the numbers of the latest edition of the IAC, and once again this was the opportunity for the big companies and the national agencies to introduce their projects and the cutting edge technologies related to the space sector, and for the small enterprises to reach new potential customers or suppliers, so there we were, Active Space Technologies.
In the middle of the fair, between the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Active Space Technologies has shown its competences in the space field and the wide range of capabilities in the engineering sector from the thermal to the mechanical and from optoelectronic to electronic field.
The Active Space Technologies team from Coimbra and Berlin, introduced some of the new market leader of the company such as the new Aero cork, one of the materials with which the new Boeing wings are made, the Aerogel for thermal insulation, the lightest solid ever known with tailorable properties that have a range of potential application in space. The Aerogel nanoporous structures provides properties such as low density and high thermal insulation, making it extremely competitive for space applications, in fact has the disruptive advantage for applications where the atmosphere starts playing a relevant role in the heat transport, allowing convective heat fluxes (e.g. Mars), such as launchers, re-entry, Landers, and rovers.
One of the most popular products introduced, along with the Aerogel, was the Small Vacuum Chamber, in which the Aerogel has been tested. A small chamber, 80 litres, designed to provide a low level vacuum (0.001 to 0.1 mbar) ideal for all types of rough but long lasting vacuum experiments that so often are necessary in the development of a scientific or engineering system. The small optical bench and a highly flexible system of overhanging rails allow for accurate and quick placement of equipment, reducing the need of special adapters. That made this product really interesting for who was looking for new facilities at affordable price.
Besides that, a small model of Pandora, the transport and storage container for sensitive equipment (e.g. small satellite, system, instruments, ecc) was shown in the booth. This new transporter allows an active control and monitoring of the internal environment over a broad range of parameters such as vibration, air quality, temperature, humidity and many others.
Once again the IAC has been the meeting point for whom was looking for new customers or suppliers, exploring new business opportunities and sharing ideas.
The next one will be in South Africa, and we are ready for that.
Contact:
Active Space Technologies GmbH
Rudower Chaussee 29
12489 Berlin
Tel: +49 (0)30 639 260 71
Fax: +49 (0)30 201 632 829