Development and Testing of the Contaminant Insensitive Sublimator

Abstract

Sublimators have been used for heat rejection for a variety of space applications including the Apollo Lunar Module and the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU). Some of the attractive features of sublimators are that they are compact, lightweight, and self-regulating. One of the drawbacks of previous designs has been sensitivity to non-volatile contamination in the feedwater, which can clog relatively small pores (approx. 3-6 micrometers) in the porous plates where ice forms and sublimates. A new design that is less sensitive to contaminants is being developed at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). This paper describes the design, fabrication, and testing of the Contaminant Insensitive Sublimator (CIS) Engineering Development Unit (EDU).