Using Spherical Air Bearings in Satellite Testing

As new satellite programs, such as NASA's CubeSat program, grow in popularity, the need for satellite test systems increases. NASA has launched more than 30 CubeSats in recent years, and as of 2015, more than 50 were still waiting for launch. The various commercial and academic institutions that manufacture these satellites are continually developing improved test systems to fully validate the hardware before deploying the system for launch.

Video: Spherical air bearings provide motion in all three rotary degrees of freedom.

PI glide HB spherical air bearings are often used for testing small satellite attitude control systems. The frictionless nature of spherical air bearings allows a satellite's pitch, roll, and yaw control system to simulate a partially weightless environment, allowing a satellite's pitch, roll, and yaw control system to enter space without resorting to traditional drop tests or other tedious and expensive test simulations. allow you to function as you would when you were there.

Video: CubeSat Hybrid Attitude Determination and Control Through HiL Simulation. Source Youtube, Spacecraft Robotics Laboratory.

The PI Glide HB series spherical air bearings range in size from 50 mm to 300 mm and can support payloads from less than 10 kg to 635 kg when supplied with 80 psi compressed air. This wide range of sizes provides a solution for almost any small satellite, from 1U pico-satellites to half-ton microsatellites.

The moving elements of the

PIglide HB Ball Air Bearing are made as light as possible to reduce moving masses and moments of inertia. This ensures that the test system simulates the actual behavior and characteristics of the satellite as closely as possible.

Spherical air bearings are often used with pedestal mounts to raise the test platform off the ground and provide space for the satellite under test to rotate and tilt freely.

PIglide Pedestal Mount, Model A-652.PED, shown with spherical air bearing

Video: CubeADCS test by Hawaii Space Flight Lab (using a PIglide HB spherical air bearing)

For test situations where more than three degrees of freedom are required (X or Y displacement required), spherical bearings can be installed in linear air bearing slides such as the PIglide RB. If movement in both the X and Y directions is required, two PIglide RB carriages can be stacked with a PIglide HB spherical air bearing mounted on top. Planar XY pack designs are also available.

PIglide RB Linear Air Bearing Slide, Model A-102.100

Bearing Dimensions (mm)

PIglide HB Catalog Drawing

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