Electrical Connectors Provide Signal Integrity for Orion

KA Series PCB connectors and D-Sub Series connectors
Smiths Connectors
Costa Mesa, CA
714-371-1100
www.smithsconnectors.com

Engineers take a closer look at the Orion spacecraft following its successful flight test in December 2014. (NASA)

Development of NASA’s Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle was a complex undertaking involving a vast number of subcontractors across multiple technology disciplines. Smiths Connectors was selected by Lockheed Martin, NASA’s prime contractor, to provide space-grade connectors with the proven capability to perform in the harsh environment of deep space missions.

The KA Series of PCB connectors and the high-speed, rugged D-Sub connector series were deployed onboard Orion. These families of electrical connectors have provided signal integrity in previous spaceflight applications, and performed as anticipated during the successful test flight of Orion launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida last year.

Smiths Connectors recently had a role in the European Space Agency (ESA) Rosetta Mission, which successfully landed the Philae probe on the surface of comet 67P/Churymov-Gerasimenko in November of last year. For that application, the K and CMD/CSD connector Series were chosen. Connectors also have been used on the International Space Station, the Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory rover, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).

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