Applications  [ Return towards  Space & Aeronautics (embarked systems)  ]

Ground Facilities

It means expensive technologies, maintaining very low temperatures (-253°C for hydrogen) and ensuring complete risk management. Due to our know-how, we have been chosen to work on a succession of three launch pads at Kourou over the last 20 years.

Before launch, all satellites are tested in a space simulation chamber where cryogenic techniques are used to simulate the space environment - a high vacuum and temperatures close to -200°CWe have taken part in constructing all three large simulators (with diameters of between 6 and 10 m) existing in Europe.

Satellites & Orbital Vehicles

The astronauts on the future Alpha space station will rely on MELFI, a -80°C freezer designed for the space environment, to store samples obtained during their experiments in weightlessness. We supply the cold generator based on a Brayton cycle and running at 100,000 rpm.

Being dense and easily ionized and having a high propulsive capacity, xenon is the ideal gas for positioning satellites. But filling the tanks before launching raises serious problems. Today, however, they have mostly been solved thanks to an automatic transfer bench equipped with a cryogenic compressor developed and manufactured by AIR LIQUIDE.