VRW Reaction Wheels
VECTRONIC Aerospace has been developing and manufacturing reaction wheels meanwhile for more than 20 years and accumulated a huge amount of experience and space flight heritage. In the past years we have successfully delivered our reaction wheels to several satellite constellations.
We can offer reaction wheels in the Angular Momentum range starting at 0.2 Nms up to 6 Nms with different motor torque options, whereas rotor geometry and mass are adjustable in a certain range within the individual reaction wheel class.
As the VRW series is in full series production we are able to offer our customers attractive conditions for prices and lead times.
The VRW reaction wheels comprise the following components:
- brushless DC Motor
- rotor
- wheel drive electronics
- housing
More Information...
VECTRONIC Aerospace has developed the VRW reaction wheel series especially for small satellite applications. Reaction wheels are actuators used to influence the rotational motion of a spacecraft. According to the principle of angular momentum conservation, a torque is exerted onto the spacecraft if the wheel speed is changed. The ratio between acceleration of the wheel and the spacecraft is equal to the ratio of their moments of inertia.
The wheel speed is controlled with a model supported PI-loop running inside the 32 Bit micro processor which is using a low noise high efficiency four quadrant PWM method in the power stage. The wheel drive electronic includes thermal and over voltage protection circuits. The signal interface is a standard asynchronous SCI on RS422/RS485 level. It can be used in a single full-duplex configuration as well as in a half-duplex bus architecture. The baud rate is adjustable up to 1Mbaud. A CAN bus interface is also available.
The reaction wheel design is kept modular. By changing the rotor geometry, input voltage range or communication protocol, the VRW characteristics are easy to adapt to customer needs.
Flexible operation in torque control mode or speed control mode is possible.
The nominal In-Orbit lifetime for this type of reaction wheels is more than 45.000 hours.
VRW-B-02
Technical specifications
|
Dimensions |
70 mm x 70 mm x 48 mm |
|
Mass |
1.0 kg |
|
Moment of Inertia (rotor) |
3.4*10-4 kgm2 |
|
Mounting pattern |
4x M4 62.5 mm x 62.5 mm |
|
Power consumption: |
|
|
@steady state, no speed |
<1.1 W |
|
@steady state, max speed |
<4.5 W |
|
@max. torque, max speed |
<45 W |
|
Input Voltage Range |
9 VDC to 36 VDC |
|
Signal interface |
RS422 / RS485 / CAN |
|
Connector Type |
MDM-9 / MDM-25 |
|
Operating temp. range |
-20°C to +70°C |
|
Storage temp. range |
-40°C to +80°C |
|
Vibration |
22 g rms random 3 axis |
|
Radiation tolerance |
>20 krad |
|
Max. speed |
± 6000 rpm |
|
Max.Angular Momentum |
0.2 Nms |
|
Max. torque |
± 20 mNm |
|
Speed control loop accuracy (2σ) |
0.1 rpm |
|
Unbalance static/dynamic |
< 1 gmm / 80 gmm² |
VRW-C-1
Technical specifications
|
Dimensions |
96 mm x 96 mm x 52 mm |
|
Mass |
2.3 kg |
|
Moment of Inertia (rotor) |
1.94*10-3 kgm2 |
|
Mounting pattern |
4x M5 85 mm x 85 mm |
|
Power consumption: |
|
|
@steady state, no speed |
<1.1 W |
|
@steady state, max speed |
<4.5 W |
|
@max. torque, max speed |
<45 W |
|
Input Voltage Range |
9 VDC to 36 VDC |
|
Signal interface |
RS422 / RS485 / CAN |
|
Connector Type |
MDM-25 |
|
Operating temp. range |
-20°C to +70°C |
|
Storage temp. range |
-40°C to +80°C |
|
Vibration |
16 g rms random 3 axis |
|
Radiation tolerance |
>20 krad |
| Max. speed | ± 6000 rpm |
| Max. Angular Momentum | 1.2 Nms |
| Max. torque | ± 20 mNm |
| Speed control loop accuracy (2σ) | 0.1 rpm |
| Unbalance static/dynamic | < 1 gmm / 80 gmm² |
VRW-D-2
Technical specifications
|
Dimensions |
140 mm x 140 mm x 60 mm |
|
Mass |
2.0 kg |
|
Moment of Inertia (rotor) |
3.19*10-3 kgm2 |
|
Mounting pattern |
4x M5 126 mm x 126 mm |
|
Power consumption: |
|
|
@steady state, no speed |
<1.3 W |
|
@steady state, max speed |
<9.0 W |
|
@max. torque, max speed |
<65 W |
|
Input Voltage Range |
28 VDC to 47 VDC |
|
Signal interface |
RS422 / RS485 / CAN |
|
Connector Type |
MDM-25 |
|
Operating temp. range |
-20°C to +70°C |
|
Storage temp. range |
-40°C to +80°C |
|
Vibration |
26 g rms random 3 axis |
|
Radiation tolerance |
>20 krad |
| Max. speed | ± 6000 rpm |
| Max. Angular Momentum | 2.0 Nms |
| Max. torque | ± 50 mNm |
| Speed control loop accuracy (2σ) | 0.1 rpm |
| Unbalance static/dynamic | < 3 gmm / 100 gmm² |
VRW-D-4
Technical specifications
|
Dimensions |
180 mm x 180 mm x 60 mm |
|
Mass |
2.5 kg |
|
Moment of Inertia (rotor) |
6.37*10-3 kgm2 |
|
Mounting pattern |
4x M5 166 mm x 166 mm |
|
Power consumption: |
|
|
@steady state, no speed |
<1.3 W |
|
@steady state, max speed |
<9.0 W |
|
@max. torque, max speed |
<65 W |
|
Input Voltage Range |
28 VDC to 47 VDC |
|
Signal interface |
RS422 / RS485 / CAN |
|
Connector Type |
MDM-25 |
|
Operating temp. range |
-20°C to +70°C |
|
Storage temp. range |
-40°C to +80°C |
|
Vibration |
18 gRMS random 3 axis |
|
Radiation tolerance |
>20 krad |
| Max. speed | ± 6000 rpm |
| Max. Angular Momentum | 4.0 Nms |
| Max. torque | ± 50 mNm |
| Speed control loop accuracy (2σ) | 0.1 rpm |
| Unbalance static/dynamic | < 3 gmm / 100 gmm² |
VRW-D-6
Technical specifications
| Dimensions | 200 mm x 200 mm x 67 mm |
| Mass | 3.0 kg |
| Moment of Inertia (rotor) | 9.56*10-3 kgm2 |
| Mounting pattern | 4x M5 186 mm x 186 mm |
| Power consumption: | |
| @steady state, no speed | <1.4 W |
| @steady state, max speed | <15 W |
| @max. torque, max speed | <110 W |
| Input Voltage Range | 10 VDC to 47 VDC |
| Signal interface | RS422 / RS485 / CAN |
| Connector Type | MDM-25 |
|
Operating temp. range |
-20°C to +70°C |
|
Storage temp. range |
-40°C to +80°C |
|
Vibration |
26 g rms random 3 axis |
|
Radiation tolerance |
>20 krad |
| Max. speed | ± 6000 rpm |
| Max. Angular Momentum | 6 Nms |
| Max. torque | ± 90 mNm |
| Speed control loop accuracy (2σ) | 0.1 rpm |
| Unbalance static/dynamic | < 3 gmm / 100 gmm² |
VRW-A-1
Technical specifications
|
Dimensions |
115 mm x 115 mm x 80 mm |
|
Mass |
1.9 kg |
|
Moment of Inertia (rotor) |
2.0*10-3 kgm2 |
|
Mounting pattern |
4x M5 96 mm x 96 mm |
| Power consumption: | |
| @steady state, no speed | <1.4 W |
| @steady state, max speed | <15 W |
| @max. torque, max speed | <110 W |
| Input Voltage Range | 10 VDC to 47 VDC |
| Signal interface | RS422 / RS485 / CAN |
| Connector Type | MDM-25 |
|
Operating temp. range |
-20°C to +70°C |
|
Storage temp. range |
-40°C to +80°C |
|
Vibration |
26 g rms random 3 axis |
|
Radiation tolerance |
>20 krad |
| Max. speed | ± 6000 rpm |
| Max. Angular Momentum | 6 Nms |
| Max. torque | ± 90 mNm |
| Speed control loop accuracy (2σ) | 0.1 rpm |
| Unbalance static/dynamic | < 3 gmm / 100 gmm² |
Overview of all our reaction wheels
|
Design Type |
Max. Ang. Momentum [Nms] |
Dimensions [mm] |
Mass [kg] |
| VRW-B-02 | 0.20 | 70x70x48 | 1.0 |
| VRW-B-025 | 0.29 | 70x70x52 | 1.2 |
| VRW-C-03 | 0.35 | 96x96x52 | 0.9 |
| VRW-C-05 | 0.60 | 96x96x52 | 1.2 |
| VRW-C-1 | 1.20 | 96x96x52 | 2.3 |
| VRW-D-1 | 1.20 | 115x115x60 | 1.9 |
| VRW-D-16 | 1.60 | 140x140x60 | 1.8 |
| VRW-D-2 | 2.00 | 140x140x60 | 2.0 |
| VRW-D-4 | 4.00 | 180x180x60 | 2.5 |
| VRW-D-6 | 6.00 | 200x200x60 | 3.0 |
| VRW-D-8 | 8.00 | 200x200x67 | 3.5 |
| VRW-A-1 | 1.25 | 115x115x80 | 1.9 |
| VRW-A-05 | 0.69 | 115x115x80 | 1.3 |