Ever wondered how satellites are manoeuvred when they are in Space? Reaction wheels is one of the answers. These wheels are placed at different points on the spacecraft. Changing the speed a wheel revolves exerts a force that will move, point or steer the orbiting satellite. And these wheels need testing to make sure they are up to the job. SSTL’s Simon Mclaren (left in main pic) is in a justifiably fine mood here as one of the reaction wheels has just completed a test lasting 5 years and 3 months! Simon initiated this test in July 2019 to de-risk our Lunar Pathfinder satellite programme, currently nearing the end of build and due for launch in 2025. The Lunar SSW-200 wheel in question - see pic below - has completed over 1 Billion revolutions and is designed to achieve 20 x that.. although Simon points out he may well have retired by that point. Well done to Simon and all the team in question.. (including Jonathan Arreola, Nick Porecki, James Quinn and Ben Hooper also in main pic.)
