Cattani technology on board the Shuttle
1993, the E.S.A. (European Space Agency) appointed Cattani to build the compressor
Cattani technology on board the Shuttle. In the spring of 1993, Mr. Corsini, a manager at Ferrari Engineering, talked to us about the possibility of building a compressor to be installed on board the Shuttle spaceship. I was surprised, frankly I could not understand why they had come to us. I didn’t think our company was up to the task: what would have happened if the compressor, for any reason, caused problems? Mr. Corsini explained that everything would have been under the control of European space agencies and of the N.A.S.A.. We just had to prepare our technological proposal.
The space agencies would have evaluated it, taking also into account the reliability of the company. Evidently we were found to be suitable, as the E.S.A. (European Space Agency) appointed Cattani to build the compressor. We were asked to produce a miniature compressor, which was to be stored in a limited space of a few centimetres, could not weigh more than 250 grams and needed to keep a liquid at a pressure of 30 bar. After a few launches were completed, they informed us that the results had been achieved.