Beyond Gravity delivers space technology, composites expertise for Artemis missions

Beyond Gravity (formerly RUAG Space, Zürich, Switzerland) announces that it is part of the first three Artemis missions from NASA (Washington, D.C., U.S.), delivering important elements for the mission’s Orion spacecrafts, the Space Launch System (SLS) launch vehicles, as well as the planned Gateway space station. The company is one of many global composites suppliers that has supported the NASA Artemis missions.

“We are proud and honored to be part of these historic missions, contributing to the progress of humanity,” André Wall, CEO of Beyond Gravity, says. “Our employees in Switzerland, the U.S. and Austria have been developing, manufacturing and testing for the success of these missions for many years.”

Mechanisms from Beyond Gravity are to drive the mission’s solar wings. “Our mechanisms have to perform particularly complex and extremely precise movements to position the solar array panels correctly for all three Artemis missions. The work for this was done in Zürich, Switzerland,” Anders Linder, head of satellite business at Beyond Gravity, notes. According to the company, the mechanisms must make it possible to fold the solar array panels in such a way that they are not damaged when the propulsion system fires. This is primarily because the composites-intensive European Service Module (ESM) from prime contractor Airbus (Toulouse, France) has its own propulsion system.

In addition, Beyond Gravity’s expertise in carbon fiber composites manufacturing is helping to produce a large connector (universal stage adapter) that links the launch vehicle and the service module. The adapter is 9.9 meters high and 8.4 meters in diameter at its widest point. The adapter from prime contractor Dynetics (Beavercreek, Ohio, U.S.) will be used for the first time on the second Artemis mission.

Solar array mechanism. Photo Credit: Beyond Gravity

“Work on this adapter started back in 2017 and was done at the U.S. facility in Decatur, Alabama. We did the design analysis and production at our plant in the U.S.,” Holger Wentscher, head of the launcher business at Beyond Gravity, adds.

Moreover, Beyond Gravity is working with its partner, TTTech (Vienna, Austria), to supply the central network electronics for the NASA Gateway, which will guarantee secure and reliable communications between Earth and the space station. U.S. satellite manufacturers Maxar (Westminster, Colo., U.S.) and Northrop Grumman (Falls Church, Va., U.S.) will integrate the products into the gateway, which will orbit the moon as a manned space station at a distance of more than 400,000 kilometers from Earth and serve as a stopover for astronauts and spacecraft.

For the first time since 1972, humans will land on the moon thanks to the Artemis missions. Later, a new space station (gateway) will orbit the moon and serve as a stopover station for astronauts and spacecraft.

The Artemis I program will launch an uncrewed spacecraft into lunar orbit as a first step. The second mission will be crewed and in the third mission (2025), four astronauts are expected to set foot on the moon. Closely associated with the Artemis missions is the SLS launch vehicle, which will carry the Orion spacecraft.