SENER Aeroespacial and CATEC have completed the delivery of the telemetry and telecommand antennas for the European Space Agency’s PROBA-3 mission, for which SENER Aeroespacial is the prime contractor of the entire mission.
This group of antennas includes the first one made by SENER Aeroespacial using metal 3D printing (additive manufacturing).
In recent years, SENER Aeroespacial has been providing and participating in several high- and medium-gain antenna pointing systems for the ESA’s main science missions, such as BepiColombo, Solar Orbiter, Euclid and Juice. As part of developing these systems, SENER Aeroespacial designs verifies and integrates key communications elements, most notably the antennas and the rotating joints integrated inside the mechanisms.
Within this framework, SENER Aeroespacial and CATEC worked to develop a helical antenna that was printed with an aluminum alloy and subjected to demanding verification and qualification tests, which resulted in obtaining the flight acceptance for the European Space Agency’s PROBA-3 mission.
