Astronomy: Space technology landing in Hanover at largest trade fair

Hi My Friends: AL VUELO DE UN QUINDE EL BLOG., Propelling the Ariane 5 rocket into space, the Vulcain engine truly reflects Europe’s impressive aerospace achievements. The giant engine will flag ‘ESA Space Apps’ at this year’s Hannover Messe trade fair showcasing impressive space technology spin-offs and their terrestrial potential.

The Vulcain engine of the Ariane 5 launcher during a test run at the German Space Agency DLR Credits: DLR
Propelling the Ariane 5 rocket into space, the Vulcain engine truly reflects Europe’s impressive aerospace achievements. The giant engine will flag ‘ESA Space Apps’ at this year’s Hannover Messe trade fair showcasing impressive space technology spin-offs and their terrestrial potential. Organised by ESA’s Technology Transfer Programme Office and German MST Aerospace, the ESA Space Apps stand will illustrate how striking product developments and innovative advances are possible in a variety of fields through the transfer of ready available space technologies.

ESA Space Apps stand at Hannover Messe 2011 Credits: Hannover Messe

On the opening day – 23 April – the winner of this year’s ESA Space Spin-off Award will be announced. It goes to individuals or an organisation that have carried out a space technology transfer of extraordinary success with significant economic impact and remarkable results in a non-space sector.

ESA Space Apps visitors can discuss with MST and ESA representatives how space technologies can be employed in their fields.

Spin-offs on display by companies

ESA’s Technology Transfer Programme Office has invited several industrial partners to present their products and services, all based on space spin-offs.

Trude, the world´s largest tunnel boring machines (TBMs) with a diameter of 14.2m, excavated the 4th pipe Elbe Tunnel in Hamburg, Germany. It took two years and five months to drill the 2,561 metres underground tunnel.
The German tunnelling company, Herrenknecht AG, responsible for this achievement is now applying a new technique with space origin in order to be able to drill tunnels even better. The German company Astro- und Feinwerktechnik Adlershof GmbH has produced a new transmitter for Herrenknecht AG based upon their know-how gained from their work for ESA on the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft.
A number of these transmitters are now mounted on a TBM and provides a look into the ground in front of the TDB. Every second the transmitters send sound waves into the ground, microphones receive the reflecting signals which are data processed and visualizes important geologic changes up to 40 m in front of the rotary shear blade.

Credits: Herrenknecht AG.

From the Cassini-Huygens Saturn mission, Astro- and Feinwerktechnik Adlershof derived a technology for seismic soft-ground probing to predict geological changes in front of the rotary shear blades of underground drilling machines. This is now used by the machine manufacturer Herrenknecht.

Thermal silicon-carbide protection shield technologies developed by IABG for the Hermes spaceplane were adapted for high-performance carbon ceramic brake discs by Brembo SGL Carbon Ceramic Brakes.

Based on spacecraft equipment, Tecnalia Research and Innovation is developing a telecare fall-detector device and an intelligent assistance system for mountaineers and search and rescue teams.

The German start-up company PiMON develops a fiber optic based monitoring technology for pipelines. Space expertise from very similar technologies used in structural elements in the aerospace industry, e.g. in the Ariane launch system or in satellites to monitor the integrity of cryogenic propellant tanks, have been used in the development by PiMON.
The publication presents a selection of the latest space technology transfers assisted by ESA’s Technology Transfer Programme Office.

Credits: ESA
The space expertise of PiMON has lead to the development of novel fibre optics-based sensor monitoring systems for oil and gas pipelines. Vibration and other changes along the lines – such as leaks or illegal tapping – are immediately detected and reported to service personnel.

Special ball-bearing cages developed for space missions like the BepiColombo Mercury probe are now offered by AAC for terrestrial applications.

Fire Suppression Inside is spinning off a technology from ESA’s Proba-2 satellite to suppress overheating and fire in electrical equipment like servers, switches, power distribution units and backup generators.

‘mobile life‘ is developing GPS/Galileo-based high accuracy positioning monitoring systems with wireless telemetric sensors for easy location and monitoring of people, animals and freight.
“Europe’s space programmes are important economic drivers, also when leading-edge space technology is transferred to non-space systems and sectors,” explains Werner Dupont of MST Aerospace.

MST is co-organiser of the ESA Space Apps stand and the manager of ESA’s Technology Transfer Broker Network.

“Space technologies enable in many cases everyday products in sectors like automotive, health and household without users and consumers being aware of it.”

At the Hannover Messe, ESA Space Apps is located at stand D56 in hall 2, 23–27 April.

ESA is also present with its ESA Career Info stand at Hall 6, J24/40.
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
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