We provide expertise and bespoke lubrication solutions for precision mechanisms operating on the ground, and in space. We help our clients achieve optimal mechanism performance and life, no matter what the vacuum application.
With over 50 years heritage as ESA’s external tribology laboratory, our support helps clients control development risks, maximise the value of test campaigns and meet mechanism performance, life and cost targets.
ESA (ESTEC) Head of the Mechanisms Section (TEC-MSM)
CABARET, ESTL’s own bearing analysis software, having its roots in rocket engine turbopump development (hence its name – Code for Analysis of BeArings in Rocket Engine Turbopumps), has a 35-year history of serving the specific analysis requirements of the European space industry, with the funding and support of the European Space Agency (ESA[M).
For many decades, spacecraft mechanisms have relied heavily on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Perfluoropolyether (PFPE) lubricants, PTFE-thickened greases and fluorinated solvents have become the industry’s trusted “heritage” materials, enabling reliable operation across extreme temperatures and hostile space environments. However, this long-established position is beginning to change.
At the European Space Tribology Laboratory (ESTL), we recently assessed two widely used self-lubricating materials, PGM-HT and its newer replacement TECASINT 8591, under representative vacuum conditions using our Vacuum Mini Traction Machine (VMTM).
