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Toray Advanced Composites (Langley Mill, U.K.) has signed a long-term supply agreement (LTA) with Airborne Aerospace B.V. (The Hague, Netherlands) to provide advanced composite materials for the production of solar array substrates for mega-constellation satellites.

Toray has more than four decades of space heritage and in-flight, mission-critical reliability. The company’s space-qualified, epoxy-based, carbon fiber-reinforced materials will be manufactured and supplied from its European Centre of Excellence for thermoset systems in Langley Mill, and used by Airborne in the manufacture of solar array substrates and yoke panels. 

Produced to tight tolerances on fiber areal weight, resin content and slit width, the high-performance materials from Toray will be supplied in 6-inch-wide unidirectional prepreg tape format. High-volume production will be achieved using Airborne’s robotic automated tape laying (ATL) technology, specifically developed for space applications.

“Our lightweight composites offer the ideal combination of high stiffness, optimal toughness and low outgassing — which, when combined with their proven in-flight reliability, makes them perfectly suited for demanding space environments and for automated, scalable manufacturing,” says Claire Baker, development lead, space and comms, Toray Advanced Composites. “As the space sector moves toward high-rate production, automation is key. Airborne demonstrates how advanced carbon fiber composites and smart manufacturing enable the performance, scalability and affordability needed to expand global access to space.”

This LTA is the result of many years of close collaboration between Toray and Airborne on the development and manufacturing of spacecraft structures.