Design and manufacturing aspects of tubular carbon fibre composite/titanium bonded joints

The structure of the satellite SPAS-01 (SPAS—shuttle pallet satellite) consists of a framework built by carbon fibre composite/titanium strut and node elements. The key point of the whole structure is the connection between the carbon fibre composite tube and the titanium end fitting, which has been designed and constructed in the form of a scarf, double-shear bonded joint. The present paper describes the structural requirements and their verification in the phases of design, analysis, test and fabrication of the satellite structure. As a result of this successful process, SPAS-01 has been launched for two space missions during the shuttle flights STS 7 and STS 11.