Global Fastener News

In early 2023, a Danish satellite was launched by a rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Featured onboard were components by PennEngineering® in the form of PEM® press fasteners supplied by the Danish sales and engineering house Hans Buch A/S.

Called DISCO-1, the satellite with PEM press fasteners is the first in a series of satellites in the DISCO program established in collaboration with students from four different Danish universities.

The satellite is built by the company Space Inventors, with Hans Buch A/S identifying the advantages of using the PEM® press fasteners over many other fastening solutions.

The total weight was decisive for the satellite’s properties, says Rasmus Pedersen, director and CCO of the Industry Division at Hans Buch.

– It was essential for the design of the satellite that the weight could be kept down without compromising on quality, and here our PEM press fasteners played a crucial role, he explains.

The PEM press fasteners used are the self-clinching nuts CLA™-M2-2 in aluminum. They were mounted on a milled aluminum bracket that was anodized to increase the corrosion resistance.

Overall, the PEM press fasteners enabled an application consisting of aluminum plates with a thickness of just 2mm. This was made possible without compromising on the durability and to endure the harsh conditions during the rocket launch and while orbiting the Earth from space.

The satellite – measuring 10x10x10 cm and weighing just approx. 1 kg – is the first of a series of satellites that will help researchers understand climate changes in Greenland. DISCO-2 is planned for launch in the summer of 2024.

The DISCO program has received support of DKK 4.5 million the Danish Industry Foundation and has participation by students from the IT University of Copenhagen, the University of Southern Denmark, Aarhus University and Aalborg University.

The program aims to attract young talent to the growing Danish space sector.