Altius Space Machines provide cost-effective, innovative services for all of your satellite servicing needs.
These small, low-profile EPM-based magnetic latching connectors enable various types of modules to be attached to a target spacecraft to facilitate repairs, fluid transfer, modular upgrades, and ground or in-space installation of hosted payloads.
Small enough to fit on a cubesat, but powerful enough to be useful for a multi-ton client spacecraft.
Altius’ patented Electro-Permanent Magnets (EPMs) are solid-state, electronically switchable permanent magnets, with very high grip force (125-625kPa), no moving parts, no power required to maintain grip, and only a small amount of energy (<10J) required to change states.
The EPMs have an array of hard magnetic poles, a set of electromagnetic windings, and pulse driver electronics that magnetizes or demagnetizes the pole piece by flowing a short high-power electrical pulse through the windings.
EPMs are a key enabling technology for Altius’s capture robotics and satellite servicing interfaces, and also have applications in a wide range of terrestrial markets including industrial automation, fluid control, and autonomous systems.
Altius’ toolchanger, free of any exposed moving parts, is intended for use in dusty, grimy, or other hazardous environments. The tool changers are magnetically-latched, using EPMs and a structural geometry capable of reacting significant forces and moments, and include inductive power and data transfer.
These toolchangers are being designed for planetary science applications on the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere in the solar system, but also have terrestrial applications in mining, food-handling, and hazardous environment robotics.
These low-cost, lightweight (<250g) grappling interfaces enable a satellite to be grappled via a range of methods including magnetic, electrostatic or gecko adhesive, or mechanical pinch grasping, and include a durable optical fiducial marker to simplify relative navigation during servicing operations.
DogTags lower the cost of satellite servicing and end-of-life disposal operations.
Altius’ ESCHER interface provides a universal interface for autonomous in-space or lunar surface assembly. Acting as both a structural interconnect and a grapple interface, it enables robotic systems to pick, place, and latch modular pieces of structure with the click of a button. The lightweight, dust tolerant, design uses EPM latching technology to ensure high reliability and removes the need for complex robotic manipulation or tool changing during the assembly process.
Redundant mechanical latches mean the interface is robust against anything you throw at it and the scalable form factor is ready to be integrated into your most challenging application.
Contact us on info@altius-space.com for a product quote or to learn more.