Mission to Mars
Timken supplied super-precision bearings for the NASA Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, which were intended to sustain three-month missions. With the help of long-lasting Timken® bearings, they provided valuable information about the “red planet.”
We previously helped to advance NASA’s discovery efforts by providing the bearings to be used on a Mars Science Laboratory mission. This laboratory will have greater range than any previous Mars rover and will help uncover information about the planet’s unique environment.
Research on the Universe
Timken® steel may help answer questions about the “Big Bang.” The underground laboratory for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) houses the world’s largest and highest-energy particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Scientists developed the LHC to recreate the conditions present at the start of the universe.
When Superbolt, Inc., won the bid to manufacture the CERN lab’s industrial bolts for assembly inside the LHC tunnel, they turned to Timken to deliver clean steel for the specialized bolts. For more details, click here to watch a video and learn more.
The bolts were tested for the first time when proton beams successfully circulated in the main ring of the LHC, reaching 99.99 percent of the speed of light. The LHC will help scientists learn more about the origins of mass, gravity and mysterious dark matter – the “glue” that holds the universe together.
Trusting in Flight Safety
Most of the world’s aircraft land on Timken bearings. Reliability is critical when bringing a 500-ton aircraft filled with passengers back safely to the runway. From our bearing technology to our helicopter transmission systems, Timken’s focus on quality and reliability can make a critical difference in flight safety.
We design our aerospace products to reduce volume and weight while resisting high temperatures and debris damage. The products are engineered to offer customers both reliability and energy efficiency. In aircraft engines, our tapered and cylindrical roller bearings can eliminate the need for thrust balancers – reducing overall aircraft weight and, by extension, improving fuel efficiency. Timken helicopter transmissions are designed to function even when damaged. The high-quality Timken steel used in our aerospace products is manufactured to improve product life and reliability.