Samara Aerospace received a NASA SBIR Phase I grant for the development of spacecraft access control technology The American company Samara Aerospace received a contract under the NASA Small Business Innovation Research Program aimed at developing the technology "Multipurpose Access Control Structures" (Multipurpose Access Control Structures, MSAC) - the use of moving spacecraft structures, mainly solar panels, to suppress vibrations and increase the accuracy of access control. The contract will allow Samara to test and quantify MSAC's active vibration reduction capabilities on a two-panel test platform. In addition, the scalability of the technology will be tested for spacecraft weighing 50 to 500 kg. MSAC technology is based on distributed actuators built into deployable satellite structures. Thanks to this, MSAC is able to respond dynamically to external disturbances, suppress vibrations, increase stability and allow large turns. According to the developers, the technology will significantly reduce the time it takes for the structure to relax after performing a maneuver, which is critical for tasks that require extremely stable measurements, laser communication or operation of high-precision measuring devices. In contrast to traditional flywheels and gyrodines, the effectiveness of the proposed approach, according to Samara, can increase with the size of the opening panels: the larger their area and the leverage of the power application, the greater the control torque that can be generated. The company recently moved to a new headquarters in San Francisco, expanding its assembly and testing facilities to approximately 1,040 square feet. source.

Samara Aerospace received a NASA SBIR Phase I grant for the development of spacecraft access control technology The American company Samara Aerospace received a contract under the NASA Small Business Innovation Research Program aimed at developing the technology "Multipurpose Access Control Structures" (Multipurpose Access Control Structures, MSAC) - the use of moving spacecraft structures, mainly solar panels, to suppress vibrations and increase the accuracy of access control. The contract will allow Samara to test and quantify MSAC's active vibration reduction capabilities on a two-panel test platform. In addition, the scalability of the technology will be tested for spacecraft weighing 50 to 500 kg. MSAC technology is based on distributed actuators built into deployable satellite structures. Thanks to this, MSAC is able to respond dynamically to external disturbances, suppress vibrations, increase stability and allow large turns. According to the developers, the technology will significantly reduce the time it takes for the structure to relax after performing a maneuver, which is critical for tasks that require extremely stable measurements, laser communication or operation of high-precision measuring devices. In contrast to traditional flywheels and gyrodines, the effectiveness of the proposed approach, according to Samara, can increase with the size of the opening panels: the larger their area and the leverage of the power application, the greater the control torque that can be generated. The company recently moved to a new headquarters in San Francisco, expanding its assembly and testing facilities to approximately 1,040 square feet. source.