News

Steve Carter and Bud Coleman were on hand at Kulite’s booth at the 52nd Turbomachinery and 39th International Pump User’s Symposium in September in Houston, TX. This is the sixth year Kulite has exhibited at the Turbomachinery & Pump Symposium. This is an event that offers a forum for the exchange of ideas between rotating equipment engineers and technicians worldwide. Surpassing 49 years, TPS is known for its impact on turbomachinery, pump, oil & gas, petrochemical, power, aerospace, chemical and water industries through its technical program and exhibition.
With a steady stream of customers visiting the booth, Steve and Bud presented technical capabilities of Kulite pressure sensing technology and were able to answer installation and electrical interfacing technical questions regarding miniature 200 bar transducers for oil pressure measurement. Other client discussions included the needs for various applications including but not limited to: robotic paint sprayers used in the automotive industry; the need for transducers used for control of gas turbine fuel controllers; pressure switches used in the power generation industry; and small transducers for refrigerant pressure measurements to 50 PSIA in compressors.
Kulite was glad to be at TPS and looks to increase its presence in the industrial pump and compressor market.

By Steve Carter

Steve Carter and Scott Goodman attended the 37th Small Satellite Conference at Utah State University in Logan, UT in August. There, attendees explored future missions and delved into key technological drivers, operational constructs, and activities that inform and secure the success of small satellite missions. At the Kulite booth, customers were focused on SmallSat propulsion systems and reported increasing demand for their products/test services. Happily, everyone was highly satisfied with the performance provided by our Kulite products.

Exponential increases in satellite launches are driving demand. Over 2,300 small satellites were launched in 2022 which is half the number launched during the previous 9 years. Small satellites started as university-sponsored science experiments. Communications satellites accounted for 80% of the launches in 2022 with the remainder split between remote sensing and technology development. Science experiments now only account for about 1% of launches.

Most small satellites use a storage tank for the propellant. A pressure transducer monitors the propellant level in the fuel storage tank so the satellite may successfully de-orbit at the end of its operational life. There is also a second, lower pressure transducer to monitor the regulated propulsion system supply. Kulite currently supports all common propellant types except for Indium (shipped in solid form and melted in orbit) and iodine (very corrosive, formerly championed by NASA). The more common fuels used for smallsat propulsors include nitrogen, krypton, xenon, steam, NTO, methane, hydrazine, and concentrated hydrogen peroxide.

The internal smallsat temperatures are normally close to room temperature ambient which allows for the use of oil-filled products that support helium leak check operations. Most of the visitors to the Kulite Booth were interested in pressure transducers for these applications. Parts most often discussed with customers in rank order were the HKM-312/375, HKM-17-500, HEM-312, and XTL-123G-190 (for small monopropellant thrusters vented to vacuum conditions). The threaded port was suitable for most customers, but a weldable tube stub was preferred by some of the monopropellant thruster design teams.

SmallSat was a highly successful show where we met with dozens of small satellite and launch vehicle customers. For more information on Kulite pressure transducers, please fill out an Information Request Form by clicking the “Get Info” link on our website menu or visit the Contact Page for a representative near you.

Kulite was a Gold Sponsor and exhibitor at the 2023 Spaceport America Cup, the world’s largest IREC – Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition for student rocketry teams. With over 5,913 Rocketeers, representing the best and brightest from 80 national teams and 78 international teams, participants got the opportunity to compete at the world class Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert. Students launched solid, liquid, and hybrid rockets to target altitudes of 10,000 and 30,000 feet. Spaceport America is located between the cities of Las Cruces, New Mexico and Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. The Jornada Mountain Range separates Spaceport America from White Sands Missile Range. Sharing the controlled airspace allowed the student rocketeers to soar their rockets to unprecedented heights.

Along side other sponsors like Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and Northrop Grumman, Kulite’s Senior Design Engineer, Scott Goodman and Senior Project Engineer, Jing Bao, met with almost every rocket team in attendance at opening day at the Las Cruces Convention Center. Students were eager to discuss technical questions on how to incorporate Kulite pressure transducers into their programs. The rest of the week was spent at the spaceport supporting the teams in the hot desert with refreshments and cooling towels. Students also had the opportunity to network there and learned about Kulite sponsorship opportunities and potential internships. Currently, Kulite sponsors over a dozen collegiate teams worldwide. With a great exhibit spot directly behind the viewing stands, Kulite had an awesome view of the launches. Kulite was thrilled to support this event and be onsite for all the competition and excitement! Congratulations to the event organizer and all the teams on their incredible, successful missions.

By Steve Carter

Over 5,000 engineers and scientists were on hand last week in our nation’s capital for the world’s largest aerospace research, development, and technology event hosted by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). These aerospace professionals arrived from 44 countries and all 50 states. The 2023 AIAA SciTech Forum was the largest in the history of the 60-year event and continues to grow every year. Nearly everyone in attendance knew the Kulite name as we have been supporting the aerospace community even longer than the SciTech Forum.

Approximately 1,500 students who are actively involved in aerospace research are included in the attendance numbers. In addition to exhibiting, Kulite was also noted in nearly all the technical sessions as either the studies’ primary measurement device or the foundational reference for the computational pressure modeling. Kulite engineers Scott Goodman and Steve Carter were at the booth to introduce dozens of university students to the miniature transducer product line. With 80+ years of combined experience, Scott and Steve were able to assist them with immediate answers and suggestions so they could begin preparations for their aerodynamic research. Kulite pressure transducers are present at every level of aerospace career and product development by providing the key scientific discovery data behind hundreds of advanced degrees awarded each year.

The theme of the SciTech Forum was “Ignite the Future: Explore the Frontiers of Aerospace.” We had a long conversation with the Artemis 1 flight test analysts from NASA Langley and NASA Marshall. They are currently interpreting the data from the launch last November. They reported that dozens of CTL-190S-25A and LLE-17DC-500-25A transducers purchased in 2014 and distributed on the surface of the rocket provided critical launch data to ensure the safety of future flights. The transducer durability has been outstanding as the Artemis rocket core assembly began right after the Kulite delivery and was subjected to repeated acoustic simulations, shaker table testing, cryogenic conditions, fueling operations, and test fires at NASA Stennis prior to lengthy salt air exposure at Cape Canaveral. The aerodynamic data collected using the Kulite transducers on the unmanned Artemis 1 flight will significantly increase the safety of flight on future manned missions to the moon later this decade and eventually to Mars.