NEWS

In a few days, the OCEANSAT 3 Indian satellite will be deployed in sun-synchronous orbit. It is a great opportunity to introduce you one of our greatest achievements in complex sub-system development: ARGOS 4, which will be installed on this satellite.

ARGOS System’s main feature is the ability to geographically locate data source from any location on Earth, using the doppler effect. Geolocation by Doppler effect allows to use less energy and smaller trackers.

Since 1978, the system is used to obtain geographical data, such as ocean-global atmosphere, world ocean circulation. Most of the trackers are placed on animals, to watch their displacement/migration, among other applications.

In this sight, the French contribution to Indian program OCEANSAT 3 is the AROGS 4 payload. The CNES contracted MECANO ID to develop, design, size and manufacture ARGOS 4.

Least we can say that it was MECANO ID one of the biggest projects. We worked on the definition of the baseplate made of aluminum alloy, equipment accommodation, thermal and mechanical sizing. In fact, we did and supervised all steps of development.

MECANO ID took care of the manufacturing and integration, and also supervised mechanical and thermal tests.

Last but not least, we engineered and manufactured the ADM (Antenna Deployment Mechanism) of UHF antenna.

This program will stay in our memory as a core project, the first which mobilized every service and skill from MECANO ID. During this project, we had the feeling that it was made for us, as we moved forward really fast. We achieved the development of ARGOS 4 in less than 24 months.

ARGOS 4 allowed us to assert our will to be prime contractor of complex subsystem development and 3 years later, we have been awarded by CNES of their SME label “Prime Contractor of Mechanical and Thermal subsystems for Platform and Payload.”

We are now very proud to see ARGOS 4 fly on OCEANSAT3, and we hope it will fulfill its missions for the best.

But, ARGOS 4 is just a step forward for ARGOS lifeline, its next evolution is known as the @KINEIS constellation.

MECANO ID would like to thank some partners during this project such as HEMERIA and SOTEREM for their support and their cooperation.

We look forward to seeing ARGOS 4 put into service in the coming months.

A few days ago, BIKINI integrated with EOS passed their mechanical environmental qualification tests.
ARIANE 6 maiden flight is approaching, and all the embedded payloads that will be on board are getting ready!

In this sight, The Exploration Company needed to qualify their BIKINI Flight Model with EOS Separation system. Following our partnership strategy, they decided to perform their vibration qualification test campaign in MECANO ID facilities.

The tests have occurred and all we can say is that everything went well. 👍

Thanks to The Exploration Company for their trust, and see you at the next step on the path of ARIANE 6 maiden flight!

After thermal and mechanical sizing and testing on SUPERCAM, CNES has contracted MECANO ID to manufacture CFRP parts for MMX!

MMX – Martian Moon eXploration – is a mission codeveloped by JAXA, CNES and DLR. It aims to study Mars natural satellites, namely Phobos and Deimos. The success of this mission will help to determine whether Phobos and Deimos were asteroids that Mars captured in its orbit, or the result of rubble accumulation due to a massive impact on Mars Surface (as the Moon was formed).

The mission results will precise the planets formation from the Solar System theory.

It is in this context that MID has manufactured the CFRP brackets required to deploy the Solar Panels mounted on MMX Rover. This rover, considered as a scout, will gather and analyze Phobos regolith to prepare MMX pathfinder moon landing.

For this project, MID has pushed its own limits to fulfill the contract in under a two months delay, without bypassing any quality in the process. Needless to say, that this was also because exploration has always been part of our DNA, and we were glad to be on the next MMX mission!

MECANO ID towards Mars…again!  

After being selected to develop hyperstable structures forESA (#ARTES CITRUS) and to deliver hyperstable structures to MDA, MECANO ID has accomplished another challenge: developing and delivering the TELEO hyperstable structure to @AIRBUS DS, an optical ground-satellite communication telescope.

Mounted on BADR-8 from Arabsat, TELEO telescope is a demonstrator of high speed data and information exchange between ground and satellite through optical communication. This technology is quite promising compared to RF communication, since it has an higher data flowrate, without the drawback of sharing frequency range.

Focused on the structural subsystems, the main challenge for MECANO ID was the ability to control the structural stability. To reach this goal, the two main levers were directly taken from the thermal expansion formula defining the thermoelastic strain ε=α.∆T.

• By reducing α, the coefficient of thermal expansion, using thermal stable materials, like CFRP composite.
• By reducing ∆T, the temperature variation by controlling it, using heaters and conductive materials.

Through the decision to integrate CFRP components in this hyperstable telescope and a dedicated thermal control, MECANO ID was able to come up with a solution that comply with all technical requirements.

Beyond technical aspects, MECANO ID has delivered this structure to AIRBUS DS on time, despite of an ambitious planning, allowing its integration on BADR-8.

Next step? This demonstrator allows the preparation of an industrial version development, supported partially by @DGE and the “France Relance” plan, for which MECANO ID and the Consortium have been selected on COOP program (“COmmunications OPtiques”).

MECANO ID would like to thank @AIRBUS DS team and especially Cédric FEAU, Raphael FIDANZA, Jean-Christophe RICHARD, Ludovic ZURAWSKI and Cédric ALBANO for their trust in our teams to take up those new challenges.

It is good to be able to rely on a (hyper) stable company!😉

Since 2019, we’ve been working with ANYWAVES to help them develop and industrialize their antennas. It helped us both to grow, but now, this relation is taking a whole new turn.

This partnership was able to evolve because both our companies have learned and grown during those last years. We have matured and are now able to provide more to each other.

In fact, it has pushed us to develop even faster our Space Farm service that will, for sure, help other #NewSpace actors to develop their activities and reach the industrial production.

Thank to you Anywaves for your trust, and may this partnership leads both of us further and beyond!

Cloudy, sunny or rainy in next years? MECANO ID and AIRBUS have a forecast!

METOP-SG (Meteorological Operational satellite – Second Generation) from EUMETSAT agency is a series of 6 weather satellites, with onboard instruments and technologies of an unseen quality and precision until today.

Thanks to its expertise in space structure development, MECANO ID has been chosen by AIRBUS DEFENSE AND SPACE to realize the development of the structure of FESA (Front-End Sub Assembly), from the MicroWave Imager Instrument (MWI). 

The MWI instrument is used to measure precipitations and ice surfaces. It is a high quality and accurate instrument that provides continuous data used by the meteorological community. In fact, it allows scientists to have a constant and renewed image of the precipitations and the level of ice on the Earth.

MECANO ID was the prime contractor for the development of the FESA structure, and realized the design through a trade-off, the mechanical and thermal architecture and sizing, the qualification on the first model (QM) and the manufacturing of 3 Flight Models (PFM supported by ESA, FM2 & FM3 by EUMETSAT) while guaranteeing the high positioning accuracies necessary for the ambitious performance objectives of the instrument.

After the delivery of the last flight model in march 2022, MECANO ID would like to thanks the Airbus Defense and Space team that supported and helped us during the project: Christian TABART, Muriel URTADO and Cédric FEAU

Fun fact: What is heavier between a honeycomb panel and an aluminum panel? Any expert would say the first one. But not at MECANO ID: because of FESA complexity, the honeycomb panel has been replaced by an aluminum one to reduce FESA weight and so, be more competitive. A logically solved FESAbility issue! 😉

See you in 2025 for the launching of MetOp-SG B1. 

Weather forecasting looks shinny!

PHOTOGRAPHIC CREDITS: ESA

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6937765122417283072

ZeroG, a new step for MECANO ID EOS smallsat deployer.

The testing team carried out the EOS test campaign with NOVESPACE ZeroG A310 aircraft. Big moment, clear success… we share with you! Enjoy! 😊

Didier MESNIER, Manager of MECANO ID, is present during the CNES live broadcast of the Perseverance landing, to explain with Yves ANDRE from CNES and Benoit MOULAS from COMAT the human adventure and the exceptional mobilization of the Rescue Team after the SuperCam incident.

When passion meets commitment!

See it again here, from 1h19: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnwHm-pubdE&t=4734s

For years now, MECANO ID provides the European spacecraft constructors, European and French space agencies with mechanical and thermal subsystems. Over the last 25 years, we have gradually engaged in engineering, testing, manufacturing and integration to manage their full development.

Last month, the CNES awarded first SME labels and selected MECANO ID. As more and more worldwide customers trust us, this award from the CNES comes timely! This validates our excellence as a key space supplier.

We do warmly thank the CNES for their recognition, as THALES ALENIA SPACE and AIRBUS DEFENCE AND SPACE for their confidence over time.

We are confident that our shared passion for space, technology, human values and respect will lead us to do many more projects with you, all around the world! See you soon. 🙂

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mecano-id-awarded-cnes-prime-contracting-mechanical-thermal-galinier

SAN FRANCISCO – In-space transportation startup Momentus announced service agreements Oct. 2 with Australia’s Skykraft and French spacecraft engineering company Mecano ID.

Santa, Clara, California-based Momentus revealed plans to deploy a pathfinder for Skykraft’s microsatellite constellation on a Vigoride flight in June 2021. Momentus plans to send the Skykraft microsatellite into orbit via EOS, a separation ring developed by Mecano ID with funding from the French space agency CNES.

If successful, the June 2021 Skykraft flight will be the qualification flight for EOS, which “opens the door for commercialization,” according to the Oct. 2 news release.

Momentus plans to launch a second Skykraft microsatellite in late 2021 under the launch services agreement announced Oct. 2.

Skykraft, a spin-off of the University of New South Wales Canberra Space Programme, specializes in design, manufacturing and operations of small satellite constellations. The startup, founded in 2017, plans to establish a constellation of 210 satellites to begin offering global observation of aircraft at all altitudes in 2023.

Skykraft satellites feature deployable antennas and VHF communications.

Mecano ID’s EOS deployer is designed to be lightweight and to prevent satellites deployed from spinning, according to the news release.

https://spacenews.com/momentus-contracts-skykraft-mecano-id/

MECANO ID has been selected by Airbus to support the development of TELEO optical payload.
As disclosed in Airbus’ press release back in August 2020, the future BADR-8 satellite for Arabsat will include an innovative optical communications payload named TELEO.
MECANO ID proposes an integrated approach including systems engineering, co-engineering subsets, design, mechanical and thermal sizing, manufacturing, integration, and test verification program. This full capability added to close collaboration with Airbus allows the Prime/SME team to deal with tight accommodation and high stability requirements under a very challenging schedule.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6716380759999037440