Study On Solid-lubricated Bearings Used In Satellites

Because the environment in the space is extremely special, the bearings will be objected to high vacuum, low and high temperature, radiation and so on, and the common lubrication greases do not work well and are not able to meet the need for high precision, long life and high reliability of bearings. It is good way to solve the problem to utilize solid-lubrication in the bearings.The self-lubricated bearings, which are used in the driving mechanism of the tilting board of solar cell for artificial satellites, are taken as the object of the investigation. The emphases of the investigation are placed on the follows: basic theory study on MOS2 film; sputtering technology of MOS2 film; design and analysis on solid-lubricated bearings; the technology related to solid-lubricated cage; experimental study on solid-lubricated bearings.The results show that the effective method for the lubrication of space bearings I is to sputter MOS2 film on the raceways of bearing rings and use self-lubricated cage together. The experimental data and results are useful for the application of solid lubricants in space bearings.