Hydraulic motors provided for deep space mission

Bosch Rexroth provided A2FM45 hydraulic motors designed to control 70-m diameter antennas on NASA's deep space mission for Juno, which recently entered Jupiter's orbit and has begun the first of 37 scheduled orbits of the planet.

By Bosch Rexroth July 24, 2016

Bosch Rexroth provided A2FM45 hydraulic motors designed to control 70-m diameter antennas on NASA’s deep space mission for Juno, which recently entered Jupiter’s orbit. Juno’s five-year journey to the biggest planet in our solar system included an accelerating swing past Jupiter in which it became the fastest human-made object ever (165,000 mph). Juno passed just 2800 miles above Jupiter’s cloud tops to begin the first of 37 orbits it will make over the next 20 months while it explores the planet. It will examine what is at Jupiter’s core, what drives its extreme magnetic fields, and how this gas giant world has evolved.

The ground stations of NASA’s deep space network (DSN) are designed to ensure uninterrupted communications with the spacecraft through the mission. The three 70-m parabolic antennas are strategically located around Earth to receive data and images, and send control commands to Juno. The hydraulic motors are designed to help the antennas’ position, which in turn enables the high data transmission rates required to support Juno as it orbits Jupiter more than 1 billion km (~1 light-hour) away.

Bosch Rexroth

Bosch Rexroth. WE MOVE. YOU WIN. | Bosch Rexroth 

– Edited from a Bosch Rexorth press release by CFE Media. See more Control Engineering motor and drive stories.