On 25 March 2026 at ESTEC, ESTL will contribute three sessions to ESA’s Gears Workshop, sharing practical lessons from recent programmes, the scope of our current support for gear system development, and how we plan to expand that support with industry input.
As ESA’s external centre of excellence for space tribology, ESTL supports the space mechanisms community with analysis, testing and practical guidance to help programmes deliver reliable, efficient mechanisms. At this year’s Gears Workshop, our team will deliver three presentations:
- Gears = Hard! A Lesson Learnt (by Matthew Holland): a set of universal lessons and actionable recommendations to help projects avoid recurring pitfalls in gear development.
- ESTL Support for Gear System Development – Current (by Dr Achilleas Vortselas): our present toolkit, from analytical consultancy, gear profile design and fine stress calculations to life testing, post-test evaluations, and lubricant‑health monitoring after life‑tests.
- ESTL’s Support for Gear System Development – Future (by Simon Lewis): a concise view of near-term capabilities, an invitation for feedback on what industry needs most, and how our outputs are made accessible across programmes.
We will also be presenting at ESA’s Final Presentation Days, so keep an eye out for more pre-event insights on our additional presentations over the next week.
