THE ADAPTER AND SEPARATION SYSTEMS SERIES FOR THE VEGA LAUNCH VEHICLE

The VEGA Maiden Flight represented an important milestones for the ALMASat-1 program. In that frame, ALMASpace has been in charge of the design, manufacturing, testing and qualification for launch of the ALMASat-1 ADapter and Separation System (AD-SS), retaining the spacecraft during the early launch phases and providing the S/C separation when the separation command was received from the on-board avionics. The ALMASpace AD-SS has been sized and qualified for the launch according to the VEGA requirements, therefore being hitherto the real benchmark for future missions onboard the VEGA flights for satellites up to 35 kg. In order to extend the AD-SS capabilities to larger spacecraft, ESA has undertaken an activity aimed at the development and qualification of a wider series of products, achieving the goal of supporting satellites missions up to 200 kg, thanks to an overall set of three different AD-SS models. This paper presents the improvements and the results of the design phases, started in late 2011, aimed at the completion of the second model of ALMASpace AD-SS and its delivery to ESA for the integration on the next VERTA-1 mission, currently scheduled in early 2013.