BUMAX fasteners to be used on ISS

May 15, 2023

Specialist fastener manufacturer BUMAX has been selected to provide crucial fasteners to be used on the International Space Station (ISS) — BUMAX 88 fasteners will be used to secure a new payload going to the ISS to measure the speed of sound.

BUMAX premium fasteners include some of the strongest in the world and are being used in a variety of extremely demanding and cutting-edge scientific applications, such as at the scientific research institute CERN in Switzerland and for the world's largest optical telescope in northern Chile.

The space sector continues to benefit from the BUMAX fastener range with various applications. BUMAX extra strong and fatigue resistant model 88 has been selected to securely fasten the housing of a new payload on the ISS called Granular Sound.

The customer is OHB System AG, a subsidiary of the European space and technology group OHB SE, under contract of the European Space Agency (ESA). OHB SE is a European multinational technology corporation. Headquartered in Bremen, Germany, the corporation consists of the three business divisions: Space Systems, Aerospace and Digital. At present, OHB is the third largest corporation in Europe's space sector.

Granular Sound is an experiment in space to measure the speed of sound through a cube filled with glass balls (a so-called package) in microgravity at different package pressures. The experiment uses thousands of glass balls to simulate granular media like sand or concrete.

The enhanced properties of BUMAX 88 fasteners are achieved through a combination of unique BUMAX manufacturing processes and the highest quality, European steel.

Since January of 2022, BUMAX 88 screws have also been used for the ANITA-2 trace gas monitoring system to ensure good air quality for ISS astronauts. The system has been simultaneously measuring more than 40 gases every six minutes on the ISS. The system was developed by OHB System AG. BUMAX 88 screws were used for the ANITA-2 payload to securely seal a safety containment and fasten crucial optical components.

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