Funded in 1916, and organized as a private S.p.A. (Società per Azioni) in 1927, AEREA
is active in the design, development and manifacture of mission equipments for higfh
performance military flying platforms.
Mission equipment are tasked to hold releasable payloads to the platform during
carriage phase and, when necessary, to ensure their safe relase or ejection.
Since 2011 invested to orientate its technology innovation capability to the space sector
closer to its field of application, recognizing the similarity between the requirements for
space HDRM’s and aeronautic Mission Equipment, both devoted to restrain, release and
deploy of payloads.
In 2012, within a technology innovation program, funded by the Italian MISE-MIUR
agencies, in collaboration with former Selex Galileo (now LEONARDO Airborne
and Space Systems Division) acting in the integrator role, AEREA developed, and
subsequently worldwide patented, SHREK (SHockless RElease Kinematic), a Hold Down
and Release Mechanism, actuated with Shape Memory technology, for solar array panels.
In 2014 AEREA initiated the development of the high pre-load hold down release
mechanism ALARM (Advanced Latch And Release Mechanism), actuated with piezoelectric technology, aimed to latch and release satellites/payloads of mass up to 400 kg.
In 2015 AEREA, in collaboration with the Department of Aerospace Sciences of the
Polytechnic of Milan, and LDO ASSD, developed the breadboard model of a Nozzle
Tool, subsystem of a technology demonstrator for a In Orbit Refueling System between
collaborative satellites. This activity was nested within the section STRONG (Sistemi
Tecnologie e Ricerche per l’Operatività Nazionale Globale) of the larger project SAPERE
(Space Advanced Project Excellence in Research and Enterprise) funded by Italian MIUR.
Since 2015 AEREA introduced the Additive Manufacturing technology for aerospace
applications. Initially with EBM technology, applied to Ti6Al4V powders, and lately with
technical polymers.
As responsible of the platform mechanisms, AEREA partnered in an RTI (temporary
industrial teaming) led by OHB Italy, that, in 2016, was awarded a contract from ASI to
carry out the phase A feasibility study for the PLATiNO (Mini Piattaforma spaziaLe ad
Alta TecNOlogia) satellite.
In 2017 AEREA did carry out a feasibility study for a HDRM for CubeSat in support of the
Argotec proposal to the ESA ITT AO/1-8930/17/NL/PS.
In 2018 AEREA manufactured with Additive Technology, and tested, a set of torsional
springs aimed to be integrated in deployment mechanisms.
In 2019 SHREK has been selected to be integrated on the PLATiNO platform as HDRM
for the Solar Array and the SAR antenna.
Web: www.aerea.it