One small component for a satellite, one giant leap for success: PEM® fasteners play an important role for the overall application of a Danish satellite orbiting Earth and launched by students in a collaboration across several universities.

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In the spring of 2023, a Danish satellite called DISCO-1 was successfully launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Notably, aboard the satellite were PennEngineering® components in the form of PEM® fasteners supplied by Danish sales and engineering house Hans Buch A/S.

DISCO-1, equipped with PEM® fasteners, is the first of a series of satellites in the DISCO program established in a never-seen collaboration by students from four different Danish universities.

A crucial lightweight solution

The construction of DISCO-1 is credited to Space Inventors, with Hans Buch A/S playing a crucial role in recognising the advantages of using PEM® fasteners over various other fastening solutions.

Rasmus Pedersen, Director and CCO of the Industry Division at Hans Buch, emphasised that the overall weight of the satellite was a key factor in its performance.

– 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® fasteners used are CLA™-M2-2 aluminium self-locking nuts. They were mounted on a machined aluminium bracket, which was anodised to increase corrosion resistance.

Overall, the PEM® fasteners enabled an application to be made from aluminium sheets as thin as 2mm. This was achieved without compromising on durability to withstand the harsh conditions of rocket launch and during the journey orbiting the Earth.

Uncovering new knowledge of climate changes

Measuring 10x10x10 cm and weighing only about 1 kg, the satellite will help researchers understand climate change in Greenland. DISCO-2 is scheduled for launch in the summer of 2024.

– We are excited, and proud to have contributed to the successful creation of the first DISCO satellite, and we have avidly followed the launch of the first satellite and the next upcoming launch,” says Rasmus Pedersen.

Inspiration for young talents

One of the aims of the DISCO programme is to attract young talent to the Danish space sector, which is growing rapidly and needs to increase its workforce.

The project is also making history, as it is the first time that students from four of Denmark’s universities are working together on an innovative, national space programme. This echoes through the premises of Hans Buch A/S in Albertslund.

– We are pleased that the project seeks to motivate young technical talent to pursue the space sector as their area of expertise and future career. Being a small part of this endeavour is highly meaningful for a company like Hans Buch, says Rasmus Pedersen.

The DISCO programme has been supported with DKK 4.5 million DKK from Industriens Fond (the Danish Industry Foundation) and involves students from the IT University of Copenhagen, the University of Southern Denmark, Aarhus University and Aalborg University.

Local Danish newspaper fascinated by the story

“A piece of Albertslund went on the journey when a satellite was sent into space by a rocket from the Vandenberg base in the USA,” wrote the local Danish newspaper, Albertslund Posten, and went on to describe what exactly a self-clinch fastener is and why the PEM® variety stands out from other fastening technologies.