Estec

Bolidt News

Estec

Estec is the technological heart of the European Space Agency, ESA. Projects are born and developed here, with 2000 specialists working on scientific missions, space telecommunication, satellite navigation and observation of the earth. For astronauts to successfully accomplish their mission, however, a lot of preparatory work is required each time. First and foremost, significant time and resources need to be devoted to research and testing. It is already 15 years since Bolidt first set foot in the technological heart of ESA. It may not be the moon, but it is special to be part of such an exciting environment.

Estec does not work with trolleys and forklifts, for instance, but with air pallets. Compressed air is used to float these pallets as little as a few millimetres above the ground where they can then be easily moved by horizontal push. Not a space mission, but one on solid ground: solid and without bumps please! Reason for Bolidt to launch its Bolidtop^® 500, renowned for excellent flatness thanks to purpose developed flow properties. The air pallets float freely, so it has proved to be a great success. Testing satellites and Estec belong together like the moonwalk and Michael Jackson. This includes counting the number of particles present. To ensure accuracy, this naturally takes place in a clean room environment, something that Bolidt as a supplier to the health care sector is very familiar with.

Also in these spaces, Bolidt has installed jointless, pore-free, hygienic floor finishes. Something else that is tested here is whether the satellites are resistant to solar influences. A good example of something exciting: the solar simulator available for this purpose. Bolidt is proud of its work in this space, because it is hard to match Bolidt in this process. Before the Bolidtop^® Stato 525 was applied, there was a holey grid floor. This was turned into a suitable substrate using hardboard and in the end Bolidt managed to create an expanded metal reinforced floor here. This floor safely removes static electricity. Special attention needed to be paid to the fact that the floor around the solar simulator is tiltable and, therefore, that objects should absolutely not be placed here.

The simple solution? A warning on the floor. The ‘keep clear’ in blue and yellow synthetics does the trick.

Bolidt feels privileged to have been able to contribute, albeit in a small way, to space travel for 15 years already. After all, one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.