29 Jul 2022
Picture: Vega-C liftoff / ESA - M. Pedoussaut
The Vega-C rocket, European Space Agency's (ESA) new launcher, successfully made its maiden flight from the Kourou space centre on Wednesday 13th July. An evolution of the Vega launcher, for which AXON' Cable already supplied MIL-STD-1553 data transmission harnesses, Vega-C's placed seven European satellites into Earth orbit. This maiden flight was the first of a series of launches for which AXON' will continue to provide its expertise.
Axon' interconnect solutions at the heart of the launcher
The data transmission cables manufactured by Axon' play a key role in the launcher. Integrated by Airbus DS CRISA in the fourth and final stage called AVUM+ (Attitude Vernier Upper Module), the MIL Bus 1553 harnesses delivered by AXON'Cable ensure reliable communication between the different equipment of the launcher. The role of AVUM+ is all the more crucial as it ensures, during the ballistic phase of the mission, the placement of the payload in the appropriate position before releasing it into orbit.
AXON' also delivers cables qualified according to the European space standard to Airbus for power distribution, command transmission and telemetry.
A need for reliability
Mechanical and thermal constraints, extreme miniaturisation requirements… space projects are particularly demanding. Given the challenges, data transmissions must be extremely reliable, as the slightest failure could lead to mission failure.
Axon' interconnect solutions have been specially designed to meet these constraints, and have also been assembled and tested in clean rooms dedicated to space applications, with conditions that meet the strictest criteria of the major players in the field.
Long-term expertise
With an adventure that began in the 1990s with the first sketches of the Ariane 5 project, AXON' has more than 30 years of expertise in space missions: satellites (Cryosat, Planck...), launchers (Ariane 5, Vega...), manned flights (ISS, ATV...), and even rovers (Curiosity, Perseverance...), so many projects for which Axon' has developed interconnection solutions.
AXON' offers a complete service from the choice of material or components to the design, manufacturing, testing and qualification of products.