Precision on earth.
Reliability in space.
RUAG Space.
3 RUAG Space
Precision on earth.
Reliability in space.
RUAG Space is the leading supplier of products for the space industry in Europe. Experience, outstanding reliability,
customer focus and a comprehensive, clearly structured
product portfolio all make RUAG Space the partner of choice for manufacturers of satellites and launchers across the globe.
Our vision: Number one independent space product supplier RUAG Space’s vision is to be the leading supplier of space products.
We laid the foundations for realizing this vision as a partner in insti- tutional European space programs from the very beginning. RUAG Space has played a part in all major European missions, where we have acquired know-how that benefits our customers all over the world today.
Our values: Collaboration, high performance, visionary thinking Our corporate culture is based on the values of collaboration, high performance, visionary thinking. These values determine our actions and characterize our relationships with our customers and partners.
For more than four decades RUAG Space has been an industrial partner to national and European space agencies. And we have been supplying our products to the manufacturers of satellites and launchers for just as long.
Outstanding product performance and consistency in meeting delivery deadlines are the yardsticks by which we measure success.
And above all else we are focused on reliability, as there is no room for failure in space.
At the heart of RUAG Space’s strategy is a clearly structured product portfolio, which we expand according to a definite plan. In expand- ing the portfolio, we place particular emphasis on space products that are attractive in growth markets outside the institutional Euro- pean sphere.
The cornerstone of our success: Our employees
In Switzerland, Sweden and Austria, more than 1,100 employees of RUAG Space develop, manufacture and test products for satellites and launchers. Teamwork, trust and respect characterize the work environment at RUAG Space. Our employees work in close coopera- tion with customers and partners. The success of RUAG Space is based on the skills and commitment of our staff, on the accuracy and reliability of our mechanics, and on the creativity and know- how of our engineers. With their ideas, their innovations and their products, they are pushing the limits of what is technically feasible just a little further every day.
RUAG Space: Part of an international technology group RUAG Space is a dedicated division within RUAG, an international technology group for aerospace and defense. RUAG has its sites in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Sweden and the USA.
RUAG employs 7,700 people worldwide.
For a successful launch.
We build reliable products.
RUAG Space products are chosen by today’s leading launch service providers.
We have equipped every Ariane rocket with payload fairings since the very first launch in 1979, and our composite structures are featured onboard American Atlas rockets. RUAG Space adapters and separation systems ensure there is a safe connection between satellite and rocket.
Payload Fairings and Launcher Structures
RUAG Space is the world’s leading supplier of composite technol- ogy payload fairings. Payload fairings are mounted at the tip of the launch vehicle to protect the satellites during the ascent and to make the shape of the rocket more aerodynamic.
RUAG Space produces the payload fairings for the European launch vehicles Ariane 5 and Vega and the American Atlas-V-500, and sup- plies the smaller Atlas-V-400 with the Interstage-Adapter ISA-400, a composite structure that connects the main stage and upper stage of the rocket. Our payload fairings have been used in over 220 rocket launches to date, and have never failed.
Payload Adapters and Separation Systems
RUAG Space is the world leader for payload adapters and separation systems used on commercial launch vehicles. Our separation systems ensure that satellite and rocket remain securely attached to one another during the tough journey into space, and then deliver the valuable payloads into orbit with precision. Our modular adapters mean that nearly all satellites can be fitted to almost every type of launcher.
RUAG Space equips Antares, Ariane, Atlas, Delta, Proton, Sojus and Zenit rockets. To achieve optimum performance, payload adapters are manufactured, as required, from aluminum or carbon fiber com- posites. Over 495 separations have been carried out in orbit using RUAG systems, with a 100 percent success rate.
Sounding Rocket Guidance
RUAG Space offers a range of products for sounding rocket guid- ance and for sounding rocket payload attitude control. RUAG systems are also currently used by NASA for their sounding rocket projects as well as on board ESA Maxus rockets.
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Precise orientation in space.
Precise engineering on earth.
Many successful space missions are built on RUAG Space
structures. And we keep things moving on board satellites, too.
Our mechanisms point solar generators, thrusters, antennas and instruments in the right direction. In extreme conditions.
Year after year. With the utmost precision and reliability.
Satellite structures
RUAG Space has equipped the majority of European satellites with lightweight, rigid and thermally stable structures. The range of missions that RUAG is involved in spans ESA sci- ence missions such as Herschel/ Planck or BepiColombo, the ATV European space transport- er, and the Alphabus and SmallGeo telecommunication platforms.
Depending on the requirements of each mission, we employ different technologies when developing satellite structures, from conventional aluminum elements through to monolithic or sandwich carbon fiber reinforced polymers. Special materials made from high-modulus fibers or Zerodur sandwiches are used for optical instruments and other applications that demand the highest level of temperature stability.
Satellite mechanisms
RUAG Space precision mechanisms are highly regarded by renowned space customers throughout the world, in particular when it comes to the precise positioning of solar genera- tors, thrusters, antennas and instruments. We offer a broad spectrum of space-proven Solar Array Drive Mechanisms (SADMs) for solar generators to suit satellites of any size.
RUAG Space has developed a variety of pointing mechanisms for electric satellite thrust- ers, such as those used successfully for the Artemis and Smart-1 ESA missions. The electric thruster on board BepiColombo, the ESA mission to Mercury, also features a RUAG point- ing mechanism. RUAG Space develops and produces high-precision pointing and scanning mechanisms for positioning scientific instruments and for optical communications.
Slip rings
RUAG Space is the leading manufacturer of slip rings for space applications worldwide. Our reliable slip rings are at the heart of many mechanisms on board satellites, and they are also in demand for challenging applications outside the field of space travel and exploration.
Mechanical ground support equipment
RUAG Space provides Mechanical and Electrical Ground Support Equipment (MGSE and EGSE) for satellite integration, transportation and testing, for instance providing trolleys for integration and special containers for transporting sensitive satellites.
Thermal Systems
RUAG Space multi-layer insulation offers satellites reliable and effective protection from the extreme temperatures in outer space. RUAG’s cryogenic superinsulation is also used on Earth for various applications including helium liquefiers and superconducting magnets.
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Because there is no help desk in space.
Digital electronics you can rely on.
RUAG Space supplies radiation-resistant and fault-tolerant computers to ensure that rockets make it into space safely and that the various systems on board satellites work together seamlessly, year after year. Our navigation receivers are able to determine a satellite’s orbital position to the nearest centimeter.
Computers for satellites and launchers
RUAG Space guidance and control computers have piloted more than 200 Ariane rockets safely into space. The high resistance to radiation, robust, fault-tolerant design and high error detection coverage of these computers ensures maximum reliability on the journey into space.
RUAG computers monitor and control various subsystems on board satellites just as reliably, performing a plethora of remote control and data transfer functions. They prepare data for transmission to Earth and carry out instructions issued to the satellite from the ground. They control satellites’ on-board power distribution and temperatures, and execute actions such as the pyrotechnic release of locking mechanisms after satellites have been deployed in space.
RUAG computers have successfully controlled over 80 satellite mis- sions to date, and have proven their reliability with an impressive cu- mulative track record of more than 600 years of in-orbit operation.
Navigation receivers and signal processing
RUAG Space’s GPS Precise Orbit Determination (POD) receivers can determine a satellite’s position in orbit around the Earth to within a few centimeters. This high-precision system is primarily used to collate the measurements collected by Earth observation satellites so that they are exactly geographically accurate. RUAG Space delivers complete POD systems including antennas that are able to process both the older GPS signals and the new L2c signal. The next-genera- tion devices will also be compatible with Galileo, the new European navigation system.
RUAG Space also builds specialized navigation receivers for use on board weather satellites. These GPS radio occultation receivers measure the way signals from navigation satellites are altered as they pass through the Earth’s atmosphere. This can be used to derive information about atmospheric water content and temperature.
RUAG Space develops and builds signal processing units for Earth monitoring and science satellites that are tailored to the specific requirements of each particular mission.
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Connecting the world is essential.
We help satellites communicate.
RUAG Space products on board telecommunications satellites keep people connected all around the globe. And RUAG Space technology is often involved when it comes to maintaining contact with satellites in Earth orbit or probes far out in space.
Receivers and converters
RUAG has already supplied more than 1,000 receivers and convert- ers for telecommunication satellites of globally renowned custom- ers. Our microwave units cover UHF to Ka-band frequencies, are small in size and characterized by low noise, high linearity and excellent frequency stability. It is not only the technical properties of our products that lead many commercial satellite missions to select RUAG Space as their partner of choice, but also our short delivery times, strict awareness of costs and superb customer service.
Antennas
RUAG Space is one of the world’s leading suppliers of satellite an- tennas. Our portfolio of products includes reflector antennas, wide coverage antennas and array antennas.
RUAG Space reflector antennas range in diameter from 0.4 to 3.3 m, and span frequency ranges from S band through to 575 Ghz. Our reflector antennas are characteristically low in mass, have great temperature stability and high surface accuracy.
RUAG’s wide coverage antennas are used to transmit control com- mands or telemetry data to and from satellites or launch vehicles. We have a comprehensive range of space-proven antennas, and develop tailor-made products to suit specialized mission requirements.
RUAG Space array antennas are especially suitable for telecommunica- tions use, positioning or for space radars. RUAG is the technological leader in the design of slotted waveguide arrays.
Optical communication
RUAG Space has developed a series of products for optical communi- cation in space that cover a range of applications, from satellite mis- sions in orbit around the Earth through to deep space communication.
Optical communication with laser beams is a compelling alternative to radio waves when it comes to transmitting large quantities of data over long distances through space. High data rates combined with little power consumption and low payload weight make laser commu- nication terminals particularly appealing for use on board satellites.
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Because scientists need accurate data.
Our instruments collect them.
In collaborative projects with scientific institutes and universities, RUAG Space has built some of the most sophisticated scientific space instruments and experiments ever invented.
In cooperation with the University of Berne, Switzerland, for in- stance, RUAG Space built a spectrometer for ESA’s Rosetta comet probe, currently on its way to the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gera- simenko. Rosetta is due to enter orbit around the comet in the year 2014, after which the instrument will examine the composition of the comet’s thin atmosphere. RUAG Space is also currently working with the University of Berne to develop Bela, the BepiColombo Laser Altimeter for ESA’s BepiColombo mission to Mercury, the planet nearest the sun. Bela will use laser beams to create a three dimen- sional map of the planet’s surface.
But RUAG Space instruments do more than just explore distant heavenly bodies: they also provide valuable information that benefits us all in our day-to-day lives. Take the weather forecast, for ex- ample. RUAG Space supplied the Gras instruments (GPS Receiver for Atmospheric Sounding) used in the MetOp polar orbiting European weather satellites. Gras instruments measure water content and temperature in the troposphere and stratosphere.
Two RUAG Space spectrometers on board ESA’s ADM-Aeolus wind research satellite will help expand what we know about the Earth’s atmosphere. Data from ADM-Aeolus will not only help make weath- er forecasts more accurate, it will also help us to better understand global warming.
Radiation monitors developed by RUAG Space, such as those on board the European Galileo satellites, also help us explore and moni- tor space. The term “space weather” is used to describe changes in environmental conditions near to the Earth, and above all refers to the influence on the Earth’s magnetic field of solar wind. Radiation in space is not just a threat to satellites and astronauts; modern electronic systems on Earth can be influenced or even destroyed by space weather, too.
RUAG Space builds miniaturized bioreactors for zero-gravity research that are used to carry out long-term biological and medical experi- ments such as the cultivation of yeast, animal or plant cells.
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RUAG Space Product Portfolio
Product areas Product lines
Launcher Structures & Separation Systems Launcher Fairings & Structures Payload Adapters & Separation Systems Sounding Rocket Guidance
Satellite Structures, Mechanisms & Satellite Structures Mechanical Equipment Satellite Mechanisms Sliprings
Mechanical Ground Support Equipment Thermal Systems
Digital Electronics for Satellites and Launchers Satellite & Launcher Computers Navigation Receivers & Signal Processing Satellite Communication Equipment Receivers & Converters
Antennas
Optical Communication Satellite Instruments Satellite Instruments
Launcher Structures &
Separation Systems
Satellite Structures, Mechanisms &
Mechanical Equipment
Digital Electronics for Satellites and Launchers Satellite
Communication Equipment
Satellite
Instruments
Image: NASA
RUAG Space
Schaffhauserstrasse 580 8052 Zurich
Switzerland
Phone +41 44 306 22 11 Fax +41 44 306 29 10
Solhusgatan 11 41276 Gothenburg Sweden
Phone +46 31 735 00 00 Fax +46 31 735 40 00
Stachegasse 16 1120 Vienna Austria
Phone +43 1 801 99 0 Fax +43 1 801 99 69 50
6870 West 52nd Avenue Denver, Colorado 80002 USA
Phone +1 720 318 39 49
05/13
