Last year in spring 2023, a Danish satellite was launched by a rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Featured onboard was components by PennEngineering® in form of PEM® press fasteners supplied by the Danish sales and engineering house Hans Buch A/S.
The satellite with PEM® press fasteners is called DISCO-1 and is the first of a series of satellites in the DISCO program established in a never-seen collaboration by students from four different Danish universities.
A crucial lightweight solution
The satellite is built by the company Space Inventors which Hans Buch A/S assisting in identifying the advantages of using the PEM® press fasteners over many other fastening solutions.
The total weight was decisive for the satellite's properties, says Rasmus Pedersen, director and CCO of the Industry Division at Hans Buch.
It was essential for the design of the satellite that the weight could be kept down without compromising on quality, and here our PEM® press fasteners played a crucial role, he explains.
The PEM® press fasteners used are the self-clinching nuts CLA™-M2-2 in aluminium. They were mounted on a milled aluminium bracket that was anodised to increase the corrosion resistance.
Overall, the PEM® press fasteners enabled an application consisting of aluminium plates with a thickness of just 2 mm. This was made possible without compromising on the durability and to endure the harsh conditions during the rocket launch and while orbiting the Earth from space.
Undercovering new knowledge of climate changes
The satellite measures 10x10x10 cm and weighs just approx. 1 kg being the first of a series of satellites that will help researchers understand climate changes in Greenland. DISCO-2 is planned for launch in the summer of 2024.
"We are excited, and we are proud to contribute to the successful creation of the first DISCO satellite, and we have avidly followed the launch of the first satellite and the next upcoming launch", says Rasmus Pedersen.
Inspiration for young talents
The DISCO program aims, among other things, to attract young talent to the Danish space sector, which is growing strongly, and thus, demands an increase in workforce.
The project is also making history, as it is the first time that students across four of the universities of Denmark are collaborating on an innovative, national space programme. It resonates in the premises in Albertslund at Hans Buch A/S.
"We are delighted that the project aims to inspire young, technical talents to choose the space sector as a field of expertise and future career. It is great for a company like Hans Buch to be a small part of", says Rasmus Pedersen.
The DISCO program has received support of DKK 4.5 million. DKK from Industriens Fond (the Danish Industry Foundation) and has participation by students from the IT University of Copenhagen, the University of Southern Denmark, Aarhus University and Aalborg University.
