...potentiometer called QuieSense™ to enhance the reliability of actuators used with satellites. The newly designed Moog potentiometers provide feedback on the position of solar array drives and antenna-pointing mechanisms. Moog hopes satellite design engineers will replace traditional potentiometers with Moog’s QuieSense technology to extend the reliability and performance of actuators used on satellites.
“In a traditional potentiometer, a wiper element slides across tracks and converts a signal that is picked up by the satellite. Over time the wiper and contact generate debris consisting of very minute particles that raise the wiper and lose the signal contact. This causes noise, a signal ‘drop-out,’” said Ruben Nalbandian, engineering manager for Moog. “The Moog QuieSense noise-free potentiometer uses a rolling motion and produces an analog signal output, so there isn’t any of the drop-out noise that comes from traditional potentiometer technology.”
If a satellite is trying to determine the position of, say, its solar array and there is drop-out noise, then technicians may think the solar array is pointing in a direction that it is not. Moog has solved this problem by engineering its new potentiometer to include a rolling motion between the conductor and resistor. Using membrane potentiometer technology, not unlike the kind used with iPod controls, Moog’s engineers sourced materials that could compensate for conditions such as ambient pressure and vacuum. Through rigorous testing, Moog qualified that the materials for its new potentiometer met the requirements of spaceflight.
“After an extended period of life testing, QuieSense has shown that it performs without introducing any noise. We ran the new potentiometer above and beyond anything we do normally, and there was no drop-out noise,” said Ralph Gunderson, sales manager for Moog. “This new potentiometer will have a virtually unlimited life, and make our standard line of actuators even more reliable.”
A commercial satellite manufacturer has already opted to use Moog’s new potentiometer and actuators on a communications satellite scheduled for launch in early 2014. Moog is also developing a range of sizes for its QuieSense potentiometer to enable satellite makers to easily replace traditional potentiometers found on an array of actuators now used for spaceflight.