New Scale Technologies and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Announce Joint Development Agreement for Mini Cryo Motors
Space Act Agreement focuses on qualification of New Scale’s SQUIGGLE™ motors at 4 degrees Kelvin for spacecraft and commercial applications. The objectives are to qualify SQUIGGLE ceramic motors for use by NASA in future spacecraft missions, and to validate SQUIGGLE technology for use in commercial cryogenic applications.
Victor, NY (PRWEB) December 4, 2004 -- New Scale Technologies (Victor, NY)
and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (Greenbelt, MD) have signed a joint
development agreement to evaluate New Scale’s patent-pending SQUIGGLE™ motors at
4 degrees Kelvin.
The objectives are to qualify SQUIGGLE ceramic motors
for use by NASA in future spacecraft missions, and to validate SQUIGGLE
technology for use in commercial cryogenic applications.
“NASA has
extensive cryogenic testing capabilities and experience and needs cold-qualified
actuators for future space telescope missions,” said Dr. Peter Shirron, a senior
researcher in the Cryogenics and Fluids Group at NASA Goddard. NASA’s cryogenic
instruments require millimeters of stroke, nanometer precision and several
Newtons of force while generating negligible vibration and heating. Potential
NASA applications include adaptive optics in large aperture telescopes and heat
switches in cryogenic cooling systems.
New Scale Technologies has already
demonstrated a cryogenic Squiggle motor that operates from room temperature to
100 degrees Kelvin. The tiny SQUIGGLE motor is an ultrasonic piezoelectric
actuator that uses vibrations in a threaded bushing to directly rotate a mating
screw. Nanometer resolution over many millimeters of travel has been
demonstrated. See http://www.newscaletech.com for more information on the
SQUIGGLE motor operating principle.
NASA and New Scale will work together
to test and improve the cryogenic SQUIGGLE motor at temperatures as low as 4
degrees Kelvin. New Scale will provide the SQUIGGLE motors and NASA will
complete the testing at their Cryogenic Research and Integration Test Facility.
The team will work together to identify and demonstrate motor improvements and
publish the test results.
“We are pleased to be working with NASA team
lead by Dr. Shirron, and have our ceramic motor tested in the excellent
cryogenic laboratory at Goddard Space Flight Center,” said David Henderson,
President and Founder of New Scale Technologies. “Our goal is to show how the
unique capabilities of our SQUIGGLE motor can improve future NASA spacecraft,
and to demonstrate a new positioning solution for commercial cryogenic
markets.”
Potential commercial markets for cryogenic SQUIGGLE motors
include:
- Cryogenic imaging systems for remote sensing and security
surveillance.
- Basic materials research in cryostats.
- Microelectronic
inspection and testing using cooled ultra-sensitive photon
detectors.
About New Scale Technologies
New Scale Technologies (http://www.newscaletech.com) makes miniature ceramic motors
that enable our customers to create smaller products. Our patent-pending motors
are bigger than MEMS devices but smaller than conventional motors. We generate
precise movement using ultrasonic vibrations which makes our products powerful,
simple, inexpensive to produce and compatible with extreme environments. Our
SQUIGGLE motor uses piezoelectric actuators to vibrate a nut and directly rotate
a mating screw in a tiny assembly with an order of magnitude fewer parts than
conventional motors.
About NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
The
mission of the Goddard Space Flight Center is to expand knowledge of the Earth
and its environment, the solar system, and the universe through observations
from space. For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/Goddard.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/12/prweb185718.htm