Precision Barden Bearings for the Space Industry

As the number of orbital telecommunications satellites grows, the demand for super-precision, highly reliable bearings for the operation of onboard subsystems, such as gyroscopes and other critical mechanisms, is growing.

Bearings that work in satellite subsystems, such as gyroscopes and other high-precision on-board mechanisms, are subject to a large list of stringent requirements, including high precision manufacturing, fault tolerance, including under conditions of strong vibration during launch into orbit and many years of work in space vacuum.

Gyroscopes are used on satellites, spacecraft and orbital stations to change their position in space without the inclusion of reactive orientation systems and the consumption of limited fuel reserves. They are electric flywheels, which, rotating at high speeds, help to deploy satellites and orient them with respect to the Earth and space objects (the Sun and stars).

At least three gyroscopes are involved in each satellite (respectively, for the X, Y, Z axes), however, in expensive expensive projects, such as the Hubble orbital telescope, each gyroscope is duplicated. Thus, the total number of gyroscopes can reach 6 pieces.

In the world there are only a few manufacturers of precision bearings, certified for use in space technology. One of them is the Barden brand, part of the Schaeffler Group. Barden high-precision bearings are used in the aerospace and defense industries and are now working on many series of telecommunications satellites, as well as on the ISS (international space station).