The Satellite Technology Group is part of the Technical University of Munich (TU Munich) Institute of Astronautics led by former German astronaut Ulrich Walter.
The Satellite Technology Group has partnered with White Label Space to provide the space-qualified mechanisms for our mission in the Google Lunar X PRIZE. To do this they will build upon their strong track-record of developing telepresence technologies for space applications.
Our Google Lunar X PRIZE mission is a perfect example of an in-space telepresence application. A key requirement for such missions is a steerable High Gain Antenna (HGA) that can continuously point to a relay satellite or ground station, adjusting to the relative motion of the two bodies. The Satellite Technology Group is currently developing a two-degree-of-freedom steering mechanism and HGA suitable for demonstration on a 50kg class spacecraft.
The video below shows a prototype of the antenna pointing mechanism on a display model. The video also shows computer simulations of a solar array deployment and pointing mechanism also developed by the Group.
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