Company News
Hoffer Flow Controls to Provide Space Flight Qualified Flow Solutions for NASA’s Orbital Satellite Servicing Project
Hoffer Flow Controls, Inc. will design, qualify and construct flow measurement solutions under a NASA contract for low flow turbine meters to be used onboard the agency’s Restore-L semi-autonomous satellite refueling service vehicle scheduled for launch in 2019/2020. The project is under development by the agency’s Satellite Servicing Projects Division, headquartered at the Goddard Space Flight Center.
The project’s mission is to use the vehicle to rendezvous in orbit with an existing satellite, capture the satellite and refuel it with hydrazine to extend its useful life.
The Hoffer flow meters will be used for the fuel flow measurement application. Remote servicing and repair of satellites have been identified in the Congressional budget for NASA as a critical technology development task for the agency. The numbers and costs of satellites owned by the private sector and the government continue to grow rapidly.
Exhaustion of the fuel supply is the primary limiting factor now for satellite service life. The flow measurement application is challenging as measuring fuel in the microgravity, and hostile environment is completely different from measuring fuel transfer on the ground. The flow meters must be designed and qualified through extensive testing to meet those challenges.
Hoffer excels in providing custom solutions to challenging projects such as this one. Hoffer has been supplying flow instrumentation to support NASA’s mission for over twenty years and is always proud to be a part of the agency’s projects.
Let’s talk about your flow meter needs. Reach out to us at info@hofferflow.com
You may also click to Request A Quote online.
About Hoffer Flow Controls
Hoffer Flow Controls has been designing and manufacturing quality liquid turbine flowmeters and related process instrumentation for more than fifty years. Our initial experience was in the field of cryogenic flow measurement. Today our reputation in this field is synonymous with quality. Today Hoffer Flow Controls manufactures high-precision turbine flowmeters to measure clean liquids and gases throughout the processing industries. Please be sure to follow Hoffer Flow Control on Linked In
Space Flight Flow Solutions from Hoffer Flow Controls
Hoffer Turbine Flowmeters are available in a broad range of standard and special materials. The wide range of construction options allows for selecting the optimum combination of useful range, corrosion resistance, and operating life for a particular application. A low mass rotor design allows for a rapid dynamic response which permits the turbine flowmeter to be used in pulsating flow applications.
accuracy considerations
Please also see
Fuel flow meters | H-53 U.S. Navy Helicopter Fleet Upgrade
HIT-4L Temperature & Pressure Flow Computer For Liquids
HIT4G Digital Gas Flow Computer with Modbus and Data Logging
Turbine Flow Meters
