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It is always interesting to reflect on why things are the way they are and how they got that way. When the configuration of the modules for the International Space Station are looked at how many people wonder why they have that specific configuration. This paper will give an overview of the process for configuration determination. Pictures of some concepts are included.

Lubricants used in space mechanisms must be thoroughly tested prior to their selection for critical applications. Traditionally, two types of tests have been used: accelerated and full-scale. Accelerated tests are rapid, economical, and provide useful information for gross screening of candidate lubricants. Although full-scale tests are more believable because they mimic actual spacecraft conditions, they are expensive and time consuming. The spiral orbit tribometer compromises between the two extremes. It rapidly determines the rate of tribochemically induced lubricant consumption, which leads to finite test times, under realistic rolling/pivoting conditions that occur in angular contact bearings.

Copper steels are used to fabricate high strength parts. The alloys are useful because they exhibit high strength, hardness and wear resistance. Copper alloy contents of 2-w/o are most popular. Higher copper content is alloyed to increase wear resistance. In the as-sintered condition, these alloys achieve ductility of less than 1%. Of alloys containing from 2-w/o to 10-w/o copper with 0.45 or 0.8-w/o combined carbon, specimens were compacted at 425 or 640 MPa, and sintered using a cycle commonly applied in a belt furnace. The alloys were found to have combined carbon content within controllable limits. Contamination was low. The tensile strength of the sintered copper steel was higher than that of typical values listed in Standard 35. Elongation for 2-w/o-copper/9-w/o-carbon copper steels was 3%. For 5-w/o-copper/9-w/o-carbon copper steels, elongation was 2%. Processing and cost to obtain these properties is discussed. Additional work now in progress will also be discussed.

In many powershift transmission applications such as cranes, excavators, articulated vehicles, vehicles with multiple transmissions, and vehicles with remote mounted transmissions, mechanical linkage systems normally used to operate the control valve become impractical and/or expensive. After evaluating these various applications it was determined that an electrohydraulic control system has a multitude of advantages over its mechanical counterpart. With these objectives in mind Funk Manufacturing has designed and developed a series of electrohydraulic control systems which function in concert with the Funk Shift-0-Matic transmissions. The control valve and some of the control systems are briefly described in this paper.