Active Mass Auto-Balancing System for Centrifuge Rotor Providing an Artificial Gravity in Space

Abstract

The Centrifuge Rotor (CR) is an artificial gravity generator, which is aiming at launch in 2006 as a portion of the life science experimental facility of the International Space Station (ISS). The CR rotates habitats located radially around the axis and generates centrifugal force, imposing artificial gravity of arbitrary magnitude up to 22.0 m/s2 (about 2.2 g) on the specimens housed in the habitats. The imbalance is caused by the asymmetry of two habitats opposite each other, which brings about change in the mass of the habitats as well as the quasi-static change of the CG of plants and fluids and the dynamic rodent motions in the habitats. The active mass Auto-Balancing System (ABS) is provided for automatic canceling of the above-mentioned imbalance of the rotor. This paper presents the concept and the test results of the ABS.