Using Spherical Air Bearings in Satellite Testing

As of April 2023, NASA alone has launched a total of 115 CubeSats. In addition to these tiny satellites, thousands of small satellites have been sent into orbit since 2019, when Starlink started their space-based internet, and with the growing global interest in free space optical communication, some forecasts predict up to 100,000 units might be orbiting Earth by the end of the decade. The various commercial and academic institutions building these satellites are constantly in the process of developing improved test systems that fully validate their hardware before deploying systems for launch.

PIglide HB Spherical Air Bearings are commonly used to test the attitude control systems of small satellites. The frictionless nature of the spherical air bearing partially simulates a zero-g environment, allowing the pitch, roll, and yaw control systems of the satellite to work as they would in space, without resorting to traditional drop testing or other cumbersome and expensive test simulations.

A spherical air bearing provides frictionless motion in three degrees of freedom: unrestrained rotation about the vertical Z axis, and +/-45° tilt motion about the horizontal X and Y axes.

PIglide HB series spherical air bearings range in size from 50mm up to 300mm and can carry payloads from less than 10kg up to 635kg when supplied with compressed air at 80 psi. This wide range of sizes offers a solution for nearly any small satellite, from 1U picosatellites up to half-ton minisatellites.