ESA: DEVELOPMENT OF LOW AREAL DENSITY ALUMINIUM ALLOY MIRRORS USING ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING – EXPRO PLUS
13, November 2017

ESA Open Invitation to Tender AO9064
Open Date: 10/11/2017
Closing Date: 22/12/2017 13:00:00

Status: ISSUED
Reference Nr.: 17.129.02
Prog. Ref.: GSTP Element 1 Dev
Budget Ref.: E/0904-611 – GSTP Element 1 Dev
Special Prov.: BE
Tender Type: C
Price Range: 200-500 KEURO
Products: Satellites & Probes / Payloads / Instruments / Optical Instruments / Optical Telescopes
Techology Domains: Optics / Optical Component Technology and Materials / Mirror and Telescope Technologies
Establishment: ESTEC
Directorate: Directorate of Tech, Eng. & Quality
Department: Mechanical Engineering Department
Division: Mechatronics and Optics Division
Contract Officer: Strzelecki, Patryk Michal
Industrial Policy Measure: N/A – Not apply
Last Update Date: 10/11/2017
Update Reason: Tender issue

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a manufacturing technology that is growing in both reach and capability. Areal density (kg/m^2) is aparameter of importance for space optics where mass is always a constraint and high performance always a requirement. AM shall be used in this activity to drive the areal density and the costdown, while maintaining or improving the optical performance.The activity will consist of the following tasks:- Review currently used designs for Aluminium alloy mirrors and available AM techniques. Establish product requirements for the Aluminium alloy mirror.- Design and implement an AM manufacturing process to produce a lightweight Aluminium alloy mirror.- Manufacture and optically test the mirror to verify its performance under representative mechanical and thermal environment conditions.- Deliver the mirror and the development report, with a roadmap for the application of the developed AM technology for space optics.

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