SpaceX Selects Cooper Interconnect Non-Explosive Actuators for Second Dragon Flight
SpaceX Selects Cooper Interconnect Non-Explosive Actuators for Second Dragon Flight
Cooper Interconnect, a unit of power management company Eaton, announced that Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) incorporated its non-explosive actuators on the second flight of the Dragon Spacecraft. The launch utilized a Falcon 9 rocket and was part of a NASA commercial contract to resupply the International Space Station. Cooper Interconnect’s non-explosive actuators were also used on the Dragon’s first flight last May.
Applications in both missions included nose-cone deployment, release of the trunk before re-entry into the atmosphere, opening of the main-parachute door before splashdown, and the contingent release of the heat rejection system radiator grapple bars. Grapple-bar release was not required on the first flight but was needed on the second mission.
“We are proud to have been selected to provide non-explosive actuators for both SpaceX Dragon flights,” said Peter Milstead, Cooper Interconnect’s director of marketing for military and aerospace products. “The Dragon made history last May as the first commercial vehicle to dock to the International Space Station. Mission objectives for the second flight include delivering more than 2,300 pounds of cargo under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program.”
Cooper Interconnect noted that non-Explosive Actuator (NEA) solutions provided by the company include bypass switches, cable releases, pin pullers, separation nuts, tension releases, and flight-termination systems.
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