Equipment for satellites will be assembled from domestic raw materials and materials
With the introduction of Western sanctions, Russia's ability to form its orbital grouping will depend solely on its own design, technological and financial resources. Dmitry Rogozin, CEO of the Roscosmos State Corporation, announced plans to achieve full import independence of space instrumentation in a short time.
The Russian Space Systems Holding (RKS), a system–forming instrument–making company and the main domestic manufacturer of radio-electronic components for satellites, will provide the necessary components for the entire space program. One of the decisive steps of the company is the creation of a competence center for the production of printed circuit boards from domestic raw materials and materials – the basis of any microelectronic device.
RKS Holding became the first high-tech company in Russia that produces printed circuit boards for space from domestic materials. A closed production and technical complex with a full set of special equipment is organized in Moscow. The influence of the human factor is minimized. New production facilities, automation of processes, including product quality control, will ensure the technological independence of the Russian space. The quality of materials will also increase, which was sometimes lacking in foreign supplies.
"Russian companies, and not only from the space sector, who purchased dielectrics, raw materials and materials from foreign manufacturers, claim that in recent years the quality of foreign materials has gradually decreased. Formally, the characteristics of the products remained within the technical requirements, but began to lose their functional properties during operation. The RCS tried to solve these problems at the level of complaints and legal mechanisms, communicating with suppliers, but in vain," says RCS CEO Andrey Tyulin.
In the new center, the equipment of automatic lines interacts, exchanging signals among themselves for coordinated work. During the preparation of production, specialists use modern software systems to increase productivity and quality through automatic means of verification and control of technological processes. Developers work in a cloud-based digital platform on specially configured computer-aided design systems.
Technological libraries of the design work automation system (CAD) are written by technologists of production sites. This already at the design stage, quality is incorporated into the products, reliability and durability of the final devices are increased. Today, RCS can mass-produce multilayer printed circuit boards without using the usual wired mounting.
"In order to develop and manufacture promising and complex products, RCS specialists need to improve their characteristics: reduce dimensions, reduce weight, increase installation density, reduce energy consumption and expand functionality. To do this, we are investing in promising technologies for manufacturing printed circuit boards," said Evgeny Nesterov, Deputy Director of the RCS for Strategic Development and Innovation.
New methods make it possible to reduce the time of testing of experimental products. In addition, the RCS is moving to the production of optoelectronic printed circuit boards, which have no analogues in characteristics among traditional boards with copper signal transmission lines. The new technology will overcome the problems that arise with the increase in the density of input and output signals, the appearance of electromagnetic interference, with high energy consumption.
RKS specialists are also mastering the creation of optical modules of onboard equipment with improved characteristics based on integrated photonics technologies. Promising multi-satellite and multicomponent systems assume operation in new frequency ranges at high data transfer rates.
"Photonics has a number of advantages that make it possible to successfully use these technologies in space systems. In particular, photonic systems are immune to electromagnetic interference, electrical discharges and the effects of charged particles. They have a high information transmission capacity, protect critical subsystems of spacecraft from high voltages, preserving the integrity of digital signals. Technologies of precision surface treatment of glasses and crystalline materials, their precise installation have been developed for the production of optical modules in the RCS. They completely abandoned the use of vernier disks, for example, for monitoring components of promising star sensors. The latter are used in orbit to orient spacecraft – one of the most important characteristics of multi-satellite groupings. High accuracy of installation is also required in the manufacture of multi–zone scanning devices for meteorological devices, space monitoring devices for natural and man-made activity," said Gennady Erokhin, RKS General Designer for on-board systems and complexes.
The RCS has formed a scientific and technical base for the manufacture of integrated photonic structures based on microelectronics processes. The technology of multimicron integrated waveguides has been developed, which makes it possible to create modern noise–proof high-speed information transmission lines - as a result, the weight and size parameters of devices and the number of connections inside them are reduced.
In partnership with the RCS, independent technologies are being introduced by the companies LLC "SPbC "ELMA" – a manufacturer of auxiliary chemical reagents and JSC "Elektromash" – a manufacturer of foiled fiberglass. The tests showed, according to the director of the RKS rocket and space instrumentation plant Andrey Khrustin, that the domestic material is not inferior in quality to the best world analogues. The basic materials supplied by JSC "Elektromash" for the rocket and space industry have already been worked out and are successfully used in other industries. RKS specialists confirm that the products are competitive in the price-quality ratio with the world's leading manufacturers. In addition to technological independence, significant promotion of domestic materials and technologies to the Russian and foreign markets is expected.
Partner companies have significantly reduced the terms of technological preparation of production. Domestic materials are much cheaper than imported ones and are delivered to production sites incomparably faster.
The competence center created in the RCS will provide the needs for printed circuit boards for on-board and ground equipment of rocket and space technology products for the holding and companies in the industry. The new boards, manufactured using domestic materials, chemical products and technologies, will be used in all developments of the RKS holding, including in the equipment of new generations of satellites "Arctic-M", "Electro-L", "IBIS-KA" and others.
All modern developments are carried out with an emphasis on unification – one of the main strategic goals of the RCS in the field of electronics for space.
Dmitry Safonov
Dmitry Viktorovich Safonov is a journalist.