Airbus Ds Gmbh

Matti Haeberlein

Ulrich Knirsch

An electrically powered propulsion system for a spacecraft includes a first center of gravity at a first time of operation and a second center of gravity at a second time of operation, where the second center of gravity is different from the first center of gravity. The electrically powered propulsion system includes a thruster realignment mechanism and at least two thrusters coupled to the thruster realignment mechanism. Each of the at least two thrusters has an individual thrust vector. The thruster realignment mechanism is adapted such that, in a first position, the individual thrust vectors of the at least two thrusters pass through the first center of gravity and that, in a second position, the individual thrust vectors of the at least two thrusters pass through the second center of gravity. The thruster realignment mechanism holds the first position in the event all of the at least two thrusters are without any failure. In addition, the thruster realignment mechanism realigns the thrusters to the second position in the event of at least one of (i) a failure of one of the at least two thrusters, and (ii) a predetermined time criterion is fulfilled.

Electrically powered propulsion system for use in a spacecraft

A device for holding and aligning a component includes a first and a second housing part and a tilting device. The first housing part is arranged on a first end for stationary arrangement on a carrier and the second housing part is arranged on a second end for connection to the useful component. The first end and the second end are on opposite sides of the device in relation to a longitudinal axis. The tilting device mechanically connects the first and the second housing parts to one another and enables a defined alignment and holding of the relative position of the second housing part in relation to the first housing part. The actuator of the tilting device is a number of wires made of a shape-memory alloy. A length of each of the number of wires is individually adjustable by a respective determination of the resistance, which can be processed as a control variable in a control loop.

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Munich, Georgia

Matti Haeberlein