The Dutch organisation TNO developed an adaptive secondary mirror for NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) in Hawaii. Following a manufacturing error that was discovered during the integration phase in the Netherlands, TNO required a fastener solution to be able to proceed with the integration.
“Bumax really saved the day at a point in our project when it was critical that we had no delays,” said Matias Kidron, project manager space systems engineering at TNO. “The next day delivery of the screws was quite a feat and was greatly appreciated by our entire project team and enabled us to stick to our schedule.”
The Bumax DX 129 EPK fasteners used for this application were a special variant of the Bumax standard DX 129 product grade. DX 129 EPK is said to benefit from even higher surface hardness, making them almost impervious to galling. DX129 EPK also has the advantage of lower surface roughness and a cleaner finish to the fasteners, which is claimed to eliminate the need for any potential additional lubrication in applications where contamination or outgassing may be of concern.
The IRTF is a 3.0-meter infrared telescope located at an altitude of around 4,200 m, at the summit of Mauna Kea. It is operated by the University of Hawaii under a cooperative agreement with NASA. The secondary mirror upgrade project was realised together with The University of Hawaii and The University of California Santa Cruz. The secondary mirror allows the mirror to correct for the distortion of the atmosphere to ensure the IRTF’s view of celestial bodies is as sharp and detailed as it can possibly be.
