SPACEUNIVERSITY OF VALENCIA · ASIM
An instrument that watches lightning from space.
We designed and built the hardware transport container for MXGS, the X- and gamma-ray sensor of the European Space Agency's ASIM mission, now flying on the International Space Station.
Data sheet
Container with a shock-isolated base.
- Client
- University of Valencia
- Mission
- ASIM · European Space Agency
- Instrument
- MXGS · X- and gamma-ray sensor
- Year
- 2016
- External dimensions
- 1.65 × 1.18 × 1.45 m
- Volume
- 2.82 m³
- Suspension
- Wire-rope isolators
- Structure
- Welded aluminium and aluminium profiles
- Handling
- Braked castors · forklift · lifting
- CACHINERO scope
- Design · analysis · manufacturing
ASIM's MXGS sensor.
An instrument that detects the gamma-ray flashes produced by thunderstorms, mounted outside the European Columbus module of the International Space Station.
A 2.82 m³ container.
Aluminium base on wire-rope isolators, an interface plate machined to fit the instrument and a cover that lifts off without touching the hardware.
Flight hardware, no knocks.
The instrument hardware had to travel between integration and test facilities protected from shock and vibration, and arrive in a clean room without contaminating it.
A base that isolates and a cover that never rubs.
Welded aluminium base with the load suspended on wire-rope isolators, an interface plate machined with the instrument's mounting points and a grounding braid. Four columns guide the cover as it is lifted and lowered so it never touches the hardware. Separate lifting points for the cover and for the complete container, braked castors, forklift pockets and a document holder.
From the workshop to the clean room.
With the cover off, the base also served as a workstation during clean-room integration: the instrument was assembled on it without changing supports. The ASIM mission launched in 2018 and operates on the International Space Station.
