Valves

Flow Control Valves
1N Monopropellant
10N Bipropellant
200N Bipropellant
400N Bipropellant

Latch Valves
Low Flow
High Flow

Pyrotechnic Valves
Pyrotechnic Valves

Pressure Regulators
Pressure Regulators

FDV Valves
Fuel Fill Valve
Fuel Vent Valve
Oxidiser Fill Valve
Oxidiser Vent Valve
HP Helium Valve
HP Xenon Valve

Superfluid He Valve

Launch Vehicle
Cryo Valves

Valves for Spacecraft Propulsion Systems.

Fill and drain valves, pyrotechnic valves, pressure regulators, fuel fill valves, oxidiser fill valves, fuel vent valves, oxidiser vent valves and high pressure gas valves.

For over twenty years, Astrium Lampoldshausen have been producing a range of propulsion system valves for propellants, gases and other fluids.

Typical off-the-shelf space qualified valves include fuel fill valves, oxidiser fill valves, fuel vent valves, oxidiser vent valves, high pressure gas valves, pyrotechnic valves and pressure regulators.

In recent years, The Lampoldshausen Centre has concentrated its valve research and development efforts on exclusively European components to be able to comply with the requirements of their customers for ITAR free hardware.

1 N Valve for Monopropellant Thrusters
To meet our customer needs, the 1 N flow control valve has been designed to fulfil non-ITAR requirements.

The valve design incorporates all state of the art features, including:

• Leakage redundancy by means of series redundant monostable valves.
• Flexture guidance to avoid the creation of contaminant particles.
• Short opening and response times for very small minimum impulse bits.

The non-ITAR 1 N flow control valve is produced in co-operation with AER of France.

Our non-ITAR monopropellant thrusters are in addition to our large range of monopropellant thrusters fitted with MOOG flow control valves.

10 N Valve for Bipropellant Thrusters
To meet our customer needs, the 10 N flow control valve has been designed to fulfil non-ITAR requirements and has been qualified on valve level and thruster/valve combination.

The valve is of the dual coil, dual seat type and consists of two independent bipropellant units that are combined into one valve assembly comprising an upstream bi-stable latching valve and a downstream monostable solenoid valve.

The propellant part of the valve features an all welded titanium body with 40 micron inlet filter and Teflon seal / seat design.

The fuel and oxidiser flow is controlled simultaneously by one actuating device while the latching valve and the solenoid valve operate completely independent of each other. Moreover, the propellant and actuator parts of the valve are fully isolated from each other.

The valve is equipped with a micro switch for position indication. The first flight application of the non-ITAR 10 N Valve was on Apstar 6 (Spacebus), launched in April 2005.

200 N Valve for Bipropellant Thrusters
The flow control valve of the 200 N thruster is identical to the 400 N flow control valve, but with minor modifications for compatibility with ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), thus:

• Plunger stroke reduced by about 30 % to further improve the response times.
• Coil resistance changed for adaptation to the ATV requirements.
• Inlet flange fitting modified to fit to the ATV 220 N thruster design.
• Inlet filter modified to reduce pressure drop.

The valve is a single seat solenoid operated design with isolated redundant coils. Closure and leak tightness is achieved by two S-type wafer springs, which provides flexible guidance and avoids the creation of particles due to valve cycling.

Protection against contamination is achieved by means of a conical 40 micron absolute filter.

Being inherited from the 400 N valve, the 200 N flow control valve also fulfils non-ITAR requirements

400 N Valve for Bipropellant Thrusters
To meet our customer needs, the 400 N flow control valve has been designed to fulfil non-ITAR requirements.

The technical capabilities and characteristics of this valve enables it to be used on a range of bipropellant thrusters such as the 220 N thruster for ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle, the standard Astrium ST 400 N bipropellant apogee engine and with minor modifications on the new 500 N European Apogee Motor (EAM) .

The valve is a single seat solenoid operated design with isolated redundant coils. Closure and leak tightness is achieved by two S-type wafer springs, which provides flexible guidance and avoids the creation of particles due to valve cycling. Protection against contamination is achieved by means of a conical 40 micron absolute filter.

Our non-ITAR bipropellant thrusters are in addition to our large range of bipropellant thrusters and apogee engines fitted with MOOG flow control valves.

Low Flow Latch Valve
The Low Flow Latch Valve has been specially developed by Astrium Lamplodshausen for use in the bipropellant propulsion system of ESA’s Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV).

The valve consists of two bodies from the high flow latch valve (shown below) each having an inlet tube, outlet tube and poppet as well as an electromagnetic actuator. The actuator acts simultaneously on the control levers of each body for valve opening or closing.

For position indication, a micro switch is incorporated to indicate the open or closed position.

For valve opening and closing, two coils are provided operating at a supply voltage between 22 and 36 VDC. In the event of a failure of one coil, the valve can be actuated by the remaining coil in reverse polarity.

High Flow Latch Valve
The High Flow Latch Valve has been specially developed by Astrium Lamplodshausen for use in the bipropellant propulsion system of ESA’s Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV).

Due to its high flow rate, the valve is also ideally suited for launcher propulsion systems.

The valve consists of a body with inlet tube, outlet tube and poppet as well as an electromagnetic actuator.

For position indication, a micro switch is incorporated to indicate the open or closed position.

For valve opening and closing, two coils are provided operating at a supply voltage between 22 and 36 VDC. In the event of a failure of one coil, the valve can be actuated by the remaining coil in reverse polarity.

Pyrotechnic Valve

Characteristics Initiators Redundant ESA Standard Pyro Valve Design All-welded Titanium Fluid Compatibility Helium, Argon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Hydrogen, MON, MMH, Hydrazine, Deionised Water, IPA Proof pressure 1.65 MEOP 675 bar Burst pressure - Normally Open - Normally Closed 1800 bar (pre- and post-firing) 1800 bar (pre-firing), 800 bar (post-firing) Leakage - Normally Open - Normally Closed Internal leak after firing: = 1x10-6 scc/s (GHe) External leak before/after firing: = 1x10-6 scc/s (GHe) Internal leak before firing: = 1x10-7 scc/s (GHe) External leak before/after firing: = 1x10-6 scc/s (GHe) Sinusoidal Vibration Up to 60 g Random Vibration Up to 2.0 g²/Hz Pyrotechnic Shock Up to 6200 g Non - ITAR Yes

Astrium Lampoldshausen produces a range of Fill, Drain and Vent Valves for all loading and venting functions for of all kinds of propellants, pressurants and propellant vapours.

All valves in the range are space qualified and fulfil the requirements for three mechanical inhibits. The design also enables the valves to be used for test port functions.

The current range of fill, drain and vent valves includes:

• Fuel Fill Valve
• Fuel Vent Valve
• Oxidiser Fill Valve
• Oxidiser Vent Valve
• High Pressure Helium Valve
• High Pressure Xenon Valve

For all of the above valves the corresponding ground half couplings are available for the specific loading, unloading and venting activities.

Over 1000 Fill, Drain and Vent Valves have been supplied for a diverse range of international spacecraft, including the Spacebus and Eurostar communication satellites, Mars Express, Venus Express and ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle.

Astrium Lampoldshausen Centre also produces Superfluid Helium Valves, while Astrium Ottobrunn produces a range of Cryogenic Valves for launch vehicles and rocket engines, including a high pressure cryogenic valve for the new Vinci upper stage engine.

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