We have a long history of working with space program engineers to ensure reliability and help bring their state-of-the-art ideas to life. We have proudly delivered failure-free performance in numerous spaceflight programs. Smiths Interconnect designs compact and reliable products suitable for launchers, satellites, manned space flight and ground systems support. Our solutions use space approved materials and controlled processes for minimum mission lifetimes of 15 to 20 years.
Euclid Space Telescope
Euclid's launch represents a notable step forward in Space exploration as it is now located at Lagrange point 2, in a unique orbit ‘behind’ Earth. This progress owes much to the substantial contributions of OHB Italia in crafting intricate electronic units and the expertise of Smiths Interconnect in advanced connectivity solutions.
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Innovative Connectivity Solutions for the Next Frontier Mars Rover
The 2012 ‘Curiosity’ mission to Mars had set itself the huge ambition of collecting and transmitting enormous volumes of research data back to Earth. To this end, it has picked the patented Temperature Variable Attenuator (TVA) solution: Thermopad® which can efficiently and accurately compensate for temperature fluctuations from -65C to +150C, enabling it to maintain a consistent signal strength even in extreme atmospheric conditions.
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Giant Leap Towards Mars
From semaphore to the electric telegraph, advances in communications have always underpinned, and been driven by, the successful exploration and settlement of new territories. This has never been truer than for Mankind’s bid to probe into the newest frontier of Mars. Experts from Smiths Interconnect partnered with Lockheed Martin to help NASA, this time to resolve Orion’s connector challenge mainly employing the ruggedised D-sub miniature connectors, and the ultra-reliable KA family of connectors.
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Significant Contract Win with Boeing
In 2020, Smiths Interconnect was awarded a contract by Boeing to design, manufacture and supply bespoke connectors for use aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Lunar Gateway. Smiths Interconnect quickly differentiated from the others thanks to its ruggedized D-sub miniature connectors, designed to withstand the high vibration and extreme temperature fluctuations faced in space and the ultra-reliable KA family of connectors featuring Hyperboloid Contact Technology.
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cPCI Connectors Successfully Land on Mars
NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover finally touched down on Mars on February 18, 2021. Smiths Interconnect provides the Mars Perseverance Rover with high performance ruggedized cPCI 2mm connectors addressing NASA’s need for a high reliability connector solution to meet the mechanical, electrical and environmental performance requirements.