FUCHS in space

Today’s space industry is vastly different than it was just a decade ago. Gone are the days when space exploration was limited to government-funded missions.
Today, private companies within and outside of the aerospace sector are rushing to explore the great unknown with both large and small satellites and spacecraft. With more players, more missions, and large constellations of satellites, the need for innovative space lubricants will continue to grow. Check out what we propose.

Greases with cosmic potential

Someone will ask: what do lubricants have to do with space technologies? It turns out that a great deal. Both machines and robots exploring unknown extraterrestrial areas must operate reliably, just like equipment in “ordinary” industry. In the former case, on the other hand, operating conditions are much more difficult and present lubricants with entirely new challenges.

Lubricants for space applications must not only extend the life of components, but also protect optical components, prevent contamination and ensure proper motion control. It is quite a challenge to formulate lubricants that meet all these criteria, combined with the extremely demanding conditions in space.

However, there are players for whom such challenges are an incentive to move forward. One of them is Nye Lubricants, which joined the global FUCHS Group in 2020. This brand with traditions has already participated in numerous space missions. Nye has been working with leading space organizations for more than 65 years to develop state-of-the-art formulations of lubricants later used in equipment sent into space. Nye lubricants were first used on the Mercury mission in 1963.

Today, the brand’s products have played a key role in protecting components of the International Space Station, the GOES-R series of satellites and the James Webb Telescope. And the Mars Perseverance Rover and Curiosity Rover use a product called NyeBar® Barrier Film to prevent migration of bearing grease in the rover’s mast camera. NyeBar® Barrier Film eliminates the risk of pushing lubricant out of the bearing, which would accelerate wear and ultimately lead to a reduction in the camera’s range of motion, further compromising all optics that could become contaminated.

How hard is it for machines to survive in space?

A human being, in order to survive on an alien planet, requires a special outfit and a range of assistive technologies. So why the assumption that machines don’t require the same? These, admittedly, do not need to breathe and often weigh much more than humans, but after all, conditions in space are difficult for everyone and everything.

The properties that must be considered when formulating a lubricant for use in space to ensure reliable performance of components throughout their lifetime are:
– resistance to extreme temperatures,
– operation in a vacuum,
– low generation of volatile particles,
– low outgassing,
– expected long service life.

In the space industry, as in any other, reliability matters. However, unlike industrial machinery or automobiles, which can be returned to service, there is no room for mistakes or failures in space equipment. Not only are failures often impossible to fix, but they also generate serious financial losses, often worth billions of dollars. Precisely because of the cost of space missions, the chosen product must pass a series of tests and provide a guarantee of reliability.

Testing for outer space

Earth-based manufacturing technologies are already well known and the testing of designed solutions itself involves well-known manufacturing procedures and standards. The problem arises when it is necessary to test in our earthly conditions what is supposed to work in extremely different “space” operating conditions. How do you predict the behavior of a lubed component on Mars when the experiment is conducted on Earth?

Nye technologists have the answer to this question as well. At the proprietary Vacuum Aerospace and Semiconductor Test Laboratory (VAST), established in 2019, lubricants for vacuum applications are formulated and validated in a controlled environment. Everything is done in special chambers designed and built by Nye engineers, which no competing company has. This is one of the company’s other differentiators. Thanks to the one-of-a-kind test equipment, it is possible to expose lubricants and components to extreme conditions mirroring those in space.

Other test equipment, such as the Nye’s Spiral Orbit Tribometer (SOT), built on a tribometry method developed at NASA-Glenn Research Center, can test customer-supplied components by simulating the behavior of a lubricant in a specific application. Using the SOT, engineers can predict the relative life of a lubricant based on the number of orbit laps made below the friction level. This test simulates a thrust bearing and provides results that indicate the lubricant’s wear, degradation rate and service life.

Rover with Nye support (case study)

Are you still one of the unbelievers and not sure if the proposed solutions really work in space? If so, we have prepared a small case study for you, and not just any case study, because it concerns NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover mission.

When designing the famous Mars rover, NASA was concerned that their bearing grease, located near the mast camera, would migrate after some time. This process could push the lubricant out of the bearing’s surface, causing accelerated wear, but also limiting the range of motion. To avoid jeopardizing the mission, NASA had to find a product that would prevent the migration phenomenon in the space vacuum environment. In addition, among the requirements was reliable operation at extremely low temperatures without outgassing, including the emission of volatile particles that would condense and fog up the camera lens.

These needs were more than met. It turned out that the innovative NyeBar® Barrier Film, a special barrier layer, effectively controlled oil migration and prevented corrosion in both Mars Curiosity Rover models. What’s more, the product was so effective that NASA decided to use it on the Mars Perseverance Rover project as well.

Gus Flaherty (left) and Dr. Jason Galary (right) lead Nye’s efforts to develop lubricants for space applications

Nye Lubricants headquarters in Fairhaven, Massachusetss, USA.

Glimpse into the future

Larger and smaller satellites and spacecraft have become permanent fixtures in space. With an increasing number of missions and a space industry that is constantly growing and gaining in importance, the demand for innovative lubricants for such specific demands is growing all the time. And it is precisely this niche that we are targeting.

Nye Lubricants, although new to the FUCHS Group, has been synonymous with quality in the lubricants industry for more than 175 years. It’s brand with impressive traditions and equally impressive space know-how.

Meet NYE lubricants