Jun 9, 2020   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Marotta Controls Supports Rising Commercial Spaceflight Market with New Catalog Valves

Marotta Controls, a rapidly growing aerospace and defense supplier with a 65-year heritage in spaceflight, announces that four new solenoid valves have been added to its CoRe® Flow Controls series. These new products support the commercial space industry’s growing use of more efficient in-vehicle system designs and propellants that deliver better performance as well as greater returns on investments. Additionally, they are accompanied by Marotta’s customer support strategy—Qualification-by-Similarity (Qual-by-Sim)—designed to get customers into orbit faster and with less upfront investment.

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Marotta Controls introduces four new solenoid valves to its CoRe® Flow Controls series for the commercial space industry. (Photo: Business Wire)

Marotta Controls introduces four new solenoid valves to its CoRe® Flow Controls series for the commercial space industry. (Photo: Business Wire)

The CoRe® Series Advantage
First introduced in 2018, Marotta’s CoRe Flow Controls series serves as one of the only valve catalogs available for spaceflight—including usage in ground control applications and deep space. Whereas space vehicle products were historically customized one-offs, products earning the CoRe brand are now frequently chosen by customers. The consistent demand enables Marotta to manufacture CoRe valves at a steady pace and in larger volumes, generating economies of scale as well as dramatically reduced lead times as short as six weeks.

New Options, New Capabilities
CoRe pneumatic valves support one- to three-quarter inch lines; handle fluids such as helium, methane, nitrogen, and oxygen; and are qualified to the Air Force Space Command’s (AFSC) SMC-S-016 standard.

New fitting-configured valves: the direct-acting MV100X (2.54 mm ESEOD) and the pilot-operated MV524X (15 mm ESEOD). These valves are designed to support extreme cryogenic temperatures of lower than -100°F (-73°C). Notably, the MV524X weighs approximately two pounds—roughly 50 percent lighter than other available valves with similar flow capacity.

New face-mounted valves: the direct-acting PLV34X (1.65 mm ESEOD) and PLV130HLT (4.88 mm ESEOD). The face-mounted configuration allows valves to connect directly to manifolds without additional piping—reducing overall system size, cost, and complexity. The PLV34X is the third CoRe product to support extreme cryogenic temperatures.

“We provide our commercial space customers key strategic advantages that stem from our 65+ years of spaceflight experience,” said Brian Ippolitto, Director, Space & Weapons Engineering, Marotta Controls. “We’re continually evolving our proven legacy designs and production strategy to support the visionary applications emerging in such endeavors. It’s part of our DNA. However, by making these new flow control valves CoRe catalog items, we’re not just providing innovative solutions that are far more cost effective and readily accessible…we’re revolutionizing the space component industry itself. I’m proud and appreciative of our team’s incredible achievements as are our customers.”

Qualification-By-Similarity
As noted, Marotta qualifies its CoRe valves to AFSC SMC-S-016 standards and supplies Certificates of Conformance. The shortened lead times required for commercial space programs, however, call for a new approach to independent customer qualification tests. These tests can take more than 30 weeks.

With all CoRe valves, Marotta provides Qual-By-Sim Reports that encompass all test parameters, environmental conditions, and performance data—matching the output of an independent qualification program.

“This is not a simple task,” explained Ippolitto. “It takes Marotta and our customers investment to be able to share this technical data. However, our customers work with us as they see the value in collective research. This new strategy satisfies our customers’ immediate development needs, enables them to get into production faster, and strengthens their confidence in our valves with more and more reaching field testing in sophisticated designs.”

Availability
All CoRe series valves are currently available with average lead times ranging between 6 to 12 weeks.

About Marotta Controls
Founded in 1943, Marotta Controls is a fully-integrated solutions provider which designs, develops, qualifies and manufactures innovative systems and sub-systems for the aerospace and defense sectors. Our portfolio includes pressure, power, motion, fluid, and electronic controls for weapon systems, shipboard and sub-sea applications, satellites, launch vehicles, and aircraft systems. With over 200 patents, Marotta Controls continues to build on its legacy as a highly respected, family-owned small business based in the state of New Jersey. Twitter: @marottacontrols LinkedIn: Marotta Controls, Inc.