In 1993 ESA (European Space Agency) asked the University of Stuttgart to develop a sensor capable of measuring the level of atomic oxygen around a spacecraft at the time of its reentry into the atmosphere, when conditions are the most extreme.
Over the years that type of sensor was improved by the University of Dresden to meet the needs in tems of size, weight and energy efficiency needed in its use in space. In 2008 a version of that sensor was mounted outside the Columbus laboratory, a module of the International Space Station. This allowed the pursuing of a research on the oxidizing effects of atomic oxygen in that low orbit.
ESCUBE was founded in 1999, a company whose purpose was to carry on the development of that type of sensor for completely different purposes in different industrial branches. For example a great application of that technology was found in the production of glass with excellent insulating qualities.
In recent years architecture has led to the construction of many buildings with facades consisting mainly of glass but of course this solution has posed the problem of insulation. It’s essential that these new buildings are environmentally friendly and some of them were built with the express purpose of reducing their environmental impact by implementing various innovative solutions that enable significant energy savings.
Today we have the technology to produce glass with excellent insulation that protects a building from summer heat but also from winter cold. The production process is however very sophisticated and the use of a version of the sensor developed for ESA called VacuSen was recognized as the right solution to handle the process of glass production at high temperature in the presence of reactive gasses.
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A more precise monitoring of production conditions through this type of sensor makes it possible to optimize the characteristics of the glass produced. The result is that the heat transfer coefficients were reduced to about a third of what they were in the ’80s keeping light transmittance at 80%. In essence this special glass is almost as transparent as the common one but its insulating properties allow considerable savings in terms of heating during winter and conditioning during summer.
Waiting to see the use of this type of sensor in other industry branches we have a new example of applying a technology developed for space missions in an area that affects everyday life. In this case the advantage will be in ecological terms with savings on utility bills for buildings tenants. I wonder how many people who will benefit from this technology will realize its origin.
