Flight testing of the Capillary Pumped Loop Flight Experiment

Abstract

The Capillary Pumped Loop Flight Experiment (CAPL) employs a passive two-phase thermal control system that uses the latent heat of vaporization of ammonia to transfer heat over long distances. CAPL was designed as a prototype of the Earth Observing System (EOS) instrument thermal control systems. The purpose of the mission was to provide validation of the system performance in micro-gravity, prior to implementation on EOS. CAPL was flown on STS-60 in February, 1994, with some unexpected results related to gravitational effects on two-phase systems. Flight test results and post flight investigations will be addressed, along with a brief description of the experiment design.