Development and transition of low-shock spacecraft release devices

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has been actively developing low-shock, non-pyrotechnic spacecraft release devices to mitigate problems with traditional pyrotechnic devices. Specifically, pyrotechnic devices produce high shock, contamination, and have costly handling requirements due to their hazardous nature. AFRL has provided funding for development and test of several shape memory alloy (SMA) actuated release devices. Another type of device is based on fuse link technology. Through both ground testing and on-orbit performance, these devices have been shown to reduce shock by at least an order of magnitude, while remaining comparable in size and mass to pyrotechnic devices. Flight heritage includes the U.S. Air Force MightySat I Shape Memory Alloy Release Device (SMARD) experiment that successfully fired and tested two SMA devices. The success of the first low-shock devices is expected to pave the way for numerous applications, such as picosats, large spacecraft release, and fairing and stage separation. A discussion of low-shock technology, current projects, and future potential is presented along with on-orbit test results.