Space Qualified 3-Axis Gimbals to Meet Your Mission Needs

In the last decade there has been massive commercial growth within the aerospace industry including many companies with plans to launch large constellations supporting SatCOM networks. In 2014 the total number of smallsats launched was 221, but by 2024 this number had grown to 2,860.  While this growing trend signifies a new era in the commercialization of space, it also forewarns of potential overcrowding in space. While current regulations require de-orbiting schedules of only 25 years, this number is sure to come down as more and more spacecraft are launched.

EPL has worked in the aerospace industry for 40 years, and recognizes the upcoming challenges which will be of concern to GNC engineers and spacecraft operators in the fast approaching future. De-orbiting schedules will eventually need to be shorter and spacecraft will need improved and more versatile collision avoidance systems. As a solution to these upcoming challenges, EPL has designed, developed, and space qualified the GIM-3X-25-4-F with the intent to provide thrust vectoring to a wide variety of different propulsion systems. 

The GIM-3X-25-4-F is a compact, robust design which achieves a dihedral angle of 25 degrees in any direction. It utilizes three stepper motors integrated with custom arms and mechanical joints to create vertical displacement and, as a result, tilt. The simplicity of the assembly is also its strength because it reduces its points of failure, accelerates production time, and leads to an affordable yet reliable system.

As part of its development cycle, EPL has space qualified the GIM-3X-25-4-F by completing various tests including in-vacuum, vibration, and life tests. Most pertinently, EPL has qualified the GIM-3X-25-4-F to the vibration profile and qualification levels as specified in the SpaceX Rideshare Payload User Guide Version 10 (RPUG). Additionally, our customers have qualified our gimbals to levels much higher than the qualification levels specified in the RPUG. Please contact EPL for any additional information.

As previously noted, EPL conducted an in-vacuum life test on the gimbal as a significant portion of the qualification campaign. In this test, a 4 kg payload was mounted on the gimbal, and the gimbal was run continuously for about 100 days. By the end of the test, each motor had accumulated a total run time of 659 hours and step accumulation of 303 million steps. The gimbal remained fully functional with the same performance characteristics as was observed at the start of the test.

Contact EPL today for any inquiries or more information and to learn other larger gimbal sizes.