Page 12 - Industrial Technology EXTRA - 22nd June 2020

MOTION CONTROL...

Scaling up with a satellite

payload delivery system

Delicate movements for testing and loading thanks to LG Motion

s a motion control specialist, LG Motion Airbus in Portsmouth, the satellites are scheduled
is well versed in making things that go for launch in 2021.
up-and-down, in-and-out, and round- The load will be positioned over the L-band feed
Aand-round; but this recent solution takes array in a fixed position during testing, and when in
that concept to a different level. This Mechanical use it is supported on the MGSE, capable of fine
Ground Support Equipment (MGSE) has been positional and rotational adjustments to the load
designed for placing a heavy, but delicate, anechoic position relative to the feed array. The flight integrity
load over the Inmarsat-6 satellite, L-band antenna. of the feed array being loaded must be preserved
Inmarsat 6 is next generation in Inmarsat’s satellite during the test program, therefore the load and the
fleet and features a Ka-band payload hosted on MGSE were built so as not to be a source of
L-band satellite. Currently being constructed by contamination, with no physical contact between
the load and the feed array active surfaces.
With manual motion control, the MGSE payload
delivery system is designed for delicate movements
for the testing and loading process and includes four
stainless steel positioning cones for perfect
placement. This is despite managing a huge safe
working load of 650kg, which has been safety
tested to 1300kg.
This Mechanical Ground Support Equipment
will be used by Airbus across multiple sites,
including Portsmouth UK; Toulouse, France; and
Montreal in Canada, as the satellites are assembled.
Although LG Motion does not usually build
motion control systems this large, it is testament to
the team and manufacturing partners that the
company has been able to deliver a solution for the
customer at this scale, without compromising on
the exacting specifications required.
www.lg-motion.co.uk

June 2020 • INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY EXTRA! • p12