Published on 08-Mar-2024

DÜRR NDT's HD-CR 35 NDT Supports Bringing Astranis Satellites Into Orbit

DÜRR NDT's HD-CR 35 NDT Supports Bringing Astranis Satellites Into Orbit

Sources - @DURR_NDT

Astranis is building small, low-cost telecommunications satellites to connect the four billion people on Earth who currently do not have access to the internet. The company is headquartered in San Francisco and has raised over $ 500 million from top global investors, with a team of over 300 world-class engineers. Founded in 2015 with an audacious mission: to connect the world by reducing the cost of internet services in rural and remote areas with small, powerful satellites for geostationary orbit.

By owning and operating its satellites and offering them to customers as a turnkey solution, Astranis can provide bandwidth-as-a-service at a fraction of the cost of legacy providers, unlocking previously unreachable markets. Each Astranis spacecraft operates from geostationary orbit (GEO) with a next-generation design of only 400 kg, utilizing a proprietary software-defined radio payload. This allows Astranis to provide dedicated satellites to small and medium-sized countries, Fortune 1000 companies, and other customers, as well as the US Government for national security applications.

Astranis uses a combination of the DÜRR HD-CR-35 NDT computed radiography scanner with high-resolution imaging plates and a Teledyne CP200DS X-ray generator to inspect orbital welds made in manifolds. Those manifolds distribute fuel to thrusters to power the spacecraft. The fuel is under high pressure for the lifetime of the spacecraft making it imperative to ensure leak-free welds prior to being put in service.