Sintered brakes have a very high coefficient of friction

Posted by cnsuperpower on December 22nd, 2015

The International Ceramic Brake Pad  Space Station Mission Management Team met Sunday and gave its approval to proceed with a spacewalk Monday out of the Quest airlock by Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineer Tim Kopra of NASA to assist in moving the Mobile Transporter rail car a few inches to a worksite on the station’s truss where it can be latched in place and electrically mated to the complex.

SINTERED The name refers to the production process, which uses extreme heat and pressure to cement powdered metal (usually bronze) to the backing plate.

Sintered brakes have a very high coefficient of friction and excellent heat transfer, making them ideal for aggressive use and racing.

The downsides are price, increased rotor wear, and the fact that they usually require some heat to perform their best.

The green light for the unplanned spacewalk to take place Monday came three days after the Mobile Transporter stalled just four inches away from its embarkation point at worksite 4 near the center of the station’s truss as it began to move to another worksite to support robotic payload operations with its attached Canadarm2 robotic arm and the Special Purpose Dexterous Brake Pad Manufacturer  Manipulator (Dextre).