Can satellites stop relying on imported motors to stay oriented in orbit? Hical Technologies is betting a homegrown component can do the job.
Hical Technologies announced the commercial launch and first customer delivery of its indigenously developed Coreless Brushless DC (BLDC) Motor for space applications on, a component India has largely sourced from abroad.
The motor is designed for satellite attitude control systems, the reaction wheels and momentum wheels that keep a spacecraft correctly oriented in orbit. It is built to work across mission profiles, from Low Earth Orbit and Geostationary satellites to deep space and interplanetary payloads, with different sizes and performance ratings covering multiple satellite classes.
Its coreless architecture is designed to avoid the cogging effects found in conventional motors, a factor that typically affects how smoothly and precisely a motor can be controlled. Hical says the design also results in faster acceleration and deceleration, lower torque ripple, quieter operation, reduced vibration and better efficiency, characteristics relevant to the precision motion control satellites require. The company reports early interest from both Indian and international satellite manufacturers as constellations, Earth observation and communications infrastructure programmes scale up.
Attitude control hardware sits on the critical path for nearly every satellite mission, so building it domestically has implications beyond one product line, it reduces reliance on imports and adds depth to India’s space supply chain at a time when the sector is opening further to private players. A team of eight engineers, manufacturing specialists, quality professionals and technicians worked on the motor from design through qualification to production, a process the company says has built capability it intends to apply to other space grade components going forward.
“Hical has always focused on precision engineered electromechanical systems for mission critical use. Taking a coreless BLDC motor from design through qualification to commercial delivery, entirely in India, is proof that space grade motion control can be built here,” says Yashas Jaiveer, Managing Director, Hical Technologies.
