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NASA NTRS1988

Cryogenic, polar lunar observatories

In a geological vein, it is noted that some permanently shadowed regions on the Moon could provide natural passive cooling environments for astronomical detectors. A telescope located in one of the low, dark, polar regions could operate with only passive cooling at 40 K or perhaps lower, depending on how well it could be insulated from the ground and surrounded by radiation shields to block heat and light from any nearby warm or illuminated objects.

Burke, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Experimental Evaluation of a Water Shield for a Surface Power Reactor

As part of the Vision for Space Exploration the end of the next decade will bring man back to the surface of the moon. One of the most critical issues for the establishment of human presence on the moon will be the availability of compact power sources. The establishment of man on the moon will require power from greater than 10's of kWt's in follow on years. Nuclear reactors are extremely we11 suited to meet the needs for power generation on the lunar or Martian surface. reactor system. Several competing concepts exist for lightweight, safe, robust shielding systems such as a water shield, lithium hydride (LiH), Boron Carbide, and others. Water offers several potential advantages, including reduced cost, reduced technical risk, and reduced mass. Water has not typically been considered for space reactor applications because of the need for gravity to remove the potential for radiation streaming paths. The water shield concept relies on predictions of passive circulation of the shield water by natural convection to adequately cool the shield. This prediction needs to be experimentally evaluated, especially for shields with complex geometries. MSFC has developed the experience and fac necessary to do this evaluation in the Early Flight Fission - Test Facility (EFF-TF).

Pearson, J. Boise↗
NASA NTRS2007

Preliminary Evaluation of Convective Heat Transfer in a Water Shield for a Surface Power Reactor

As part of the Vision for Space Exploration, the end of the next decade will bring man back to the surface of the moon. A crucial issue for the establishment of human presence on the moon will be the availability of compact power sources. This presence could require greater than 10's of kWt's in follow on years. Nuclear reactors are well suited to meet the needs for power generation on the lunar or Martian surface. Radiation shielding is a key component of any surface power reactor system. Several competing concepts exist for lightweight, safe, robust shielding systems such as a water shield, lithium hydride (LiH), and boron carbide. Water offers several potential advantages, including reduced cost, reduced technical risk, and reduced mass. Water has not typically been considered for space reactor applications because of the need for gravity to fix the location of any vapor that could form radiation streaming paths. The water shield concept relies on the predictions of passive circulation of the shield water by natural convection to adequately cool the shield. This prediction needs to be experimentally evaluated, especially for shields with complex geometries. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center has developed the experience and facilities necessary to do this evaluation in its Early Flight Fission - Test Facility (EFF-TF).

Pearson J. Boise↗
NASA NTRS2014

An Evaluation of a Passively Cooled Cylindrical Spectrometer Array in Lunar Orbit

This thesis will evaluate a passively cooled cylindrical spectrometer array in lunar orbit characterizing the thermal response in order to provide context for decision-making to scientists and engineers. To provide perspective on thermal issues and controls of space science instruments, a background search of historical lunar missions is provided. Next, a trial science mission is designed and analyzed which brings together the elements of the background search, lunar orbit environment and passive cooling. Finally, the trial science mission analysis results are provided along with the conclusions drawn. Scintillators are materials that when struck by particle radiation, absorb the particle energy which is then reemitted as light in or near the visible range. Nuclear astrophysics utilizes scintillating materials for observation of high-energy photons which are generated by sources such as solar flares, supernovae and neutron stars. SPMs are paired with inorganic scintillators to detect the light emitted which is converted into electronic signals. The signals are captured and analyzed in order to map the number and location of the high-energy sources. The SPM is utilized as it has single photon sensitivity, low voltage requirements and a fast response. SPMs are also compact, relatively inexpensive and allow the usage of lower-cost scintillating materials within the spectrometer. These characteristics permit large-area arrays while lowering cost and power requirements. The ability of a spectrometer to record and identify the interaction of high-energy photons for scientific return is not a trivial matter. Background noise is generated when particles that have not originated from the desired distant source impact the spectrometer. Additionally, thermally induced electrical signals are randomly generated within the SPM even in the absence of light which is referred to as dark current. Overcoming these obstacles requires greater light emittance and energy resolution with reduced dark current. Strong scintillation photon emittance ensures that low energy impacts will produce enough visible photons to be detected by the SPM. Higher energy resolution will ensure that single photon impacts can be distinguished from others of similar wavelength and energy; reduced dark current decreases the generation of random signals not associated with a photon impact. Increasing efficiency in each of these properties in a spectrometer comprised of inorganic scintillators and SPMs requires low temperatures. Low temperature maintenance in a lunar environment presents many unique challenges of its own. Even with the accumulated successes of past missions, the lunar environment remains a thermal challenge for engineers. The lunar orbit thermal environment is driven by radiation from three sources, direct solar radiation, reflected solar radiation from the lunar surface (albedo) and lunar radiation (Clawson 2002). Direct solar radiation values are consistent with those seen in Earth orbit (1325 W/m2) (Clawson 2002). The percentage of solar radiation reflected from the moon is consistently very low with the moon's dark regolith covered surface absorbing nearly 90% of the incident light (Clawson 2002). Yet, it is this absorption that gives the lunar orbit environment one of its most difficult thermal attributes as the absorbed solar radiation is released from the lunar surface as infrared radiation (IR). IR is of a wavelength that is readily absorbed by surfaces designed to function as radiation emitters. It is practical to therefore "choose radiator locations and spacecraft attitude to minimize radiator views to the lunar surface, when possible...pointing the radiator towards the sun to some extent, to minimize its view to the lunar surface, is frequently preferable. (Clawson 2002)" Additionally, the amount of direct solar radiation, lunar IR and albedo an orbiting satellite receives varies from one side of the moon to the other as the moon blocks the sun from view. This environment produces large temperature variations in a satellite's instrumentation, control electronics and propulsion systems which must be understood to characterize operating temperature envelopes.

Waggoner, Jason↗
NASA NTRS2011

Optical Coating Performance for Heat Reflectors of the JWST-ISIM Electronic Component

A document discusses a thermal radiator design consisting of lightweight composite materials and low-emittance metal coatings for use on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) structure. The structure will have a Thermal Subsystem unit to provide passive cooling to the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) control electronics. The ISIM, in the JWST observatory, is the platform that provides the mounting surfaces for the instrument control electronics. Dissipating the control electronic generated-heat away from JWST is of paramount importance so that the spacecraft s own heat does not interfere with the infrared-light gathering of distant cosmic sources. The need to have lateral control in the emission direction of the IEC (ISIM Electronics Compartment) radiators led to the development of a directional baffle design that uses multiple curved mirrorlike surfaces. This concept started out from the so-called Winston non-imaging optical concentrators that use opposing parabolic reflector surfaces, where each parabola has its focus at the opposite edge of the exit aperture. For this reason they are often known as compound parabolic concentrators or CPCs. This radiator system with the circular section was chosen for the IEC reflectors because it offers two advantages over other designs. The first is that the area of the reflector strips for a given radiator area is less, which results in a lower mass baffle assembly. Secondly, the fraction of energy emitted by the radiator strips and subsequently reflected by the baffle is less. These fewer reflections reduced the amount of energy that is absorbed and eventually re-emitted, typically in a direction outside the design emission range angle. A baffle frame holds the mirrors in position above a radiator panel on the IEC. Together, these will direct the majority of the heat from the IEC above the sunshield away towards empty space.

Rashford, Robert A.↗
NASA NTRS2022

Passive Cooling in Aerogel-Based Insulation Systems for Liquid Hydrogen Upper Stage Launch Vehicle Tanks

Spray-On Foam Insulation (SOFI) is typically used to protect the windward-facing side of flight tanks for space launch vehicle liquid hydrogen (LH2) stages. SOFI is an excellent insulator in ambient pressure environments, however, its performance pales in comparison to reflective-type systems such as Multi-Layer Insulation in the thermal radiation dominated vacuum environment of space. If a windward insulation system employing radiation shields could be devised to replace or supplement SOFI, the on-orbit heat load could be drastically reduced, and the residual propellants could then be used to facilitate secondary missions. Such insulation systems, utilizing aerogel blanket insulation, have been explored by the Cryogenics Test Laboratory at NASA Kennedy Space Center. Owing to its nano-porous structure, aerogel is an excellent adsorbent as well as an insulator at cryogenic temperatures and will readily uptake condensable background gasses such as air when protecting a surface near LH2 temperatures. When an adsorbed blanket is rapidly exposed to a vacuum, such as during the ascent of a rocket, it will release the background gas, producing a passive cooling effect that could potentially reduce or eliminate the heat load on the propellant tank for a time. This work discusses the setup and results of a test program carried out to determine the effectiveness and impact of this cooling effect as it pertains to LH2 upper stage tanks. A vertical-cylindrical liquid nitrogen (LN2) calorimeter test instrument acted as the upper stage analog. The cold-mass was wrapped with two layers of 10 mm thick aerogel blanket material, with and without aluminum heat shields depending on the test, and interspersed with numerous thermocouple temperature sensors. Gaseous argon was used as a stand-in for air as the condensable background gas. The test procedure mimicked vehicle cryo-loading/stabilization, and ascent phases, with the ascent phase accomplished using parallel vacuum pumps. Results show that the desorption cooling effect was enough to not only eliminate the heat load on the LN2 cold-mass entirely, but further refrigerated the liquid below its boiling point.

A.M. Swanger↗
NASA NTRS2017

Thermal Control System of the ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS)

The ECOSystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) is a thermal infrared imaging multispectral scanner science mission. ECOSTRESS is designed and built by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and will be deployed on the International Space Station (ISS). ECOSTRESS will measure the water loss from growing leaves and the evaporation from the soil by measuring the temperature of plants and will gather data on the health of the agriculture system on Earth. The ISS orbit will allow ECOSTRESS to take observations at different times during each day over the seasons to provide coverage over the contiguous United States. The ECOSTRESS Thermal Control System (TCS) consists of a combination of active and passive components to maintain the ECOSTRESS components within the allowable flight temperature (AFT) limits. The active thermal control systems include mechanical cryocoolers, heaters and a single-phase pumped fluid loop for Instrument and Payload. The focal plane detector is cooled to 65K by a pair of mechanical cryocoolers and a third mechanical cryocooler cools an intermediate cold shield to 130K. The pumped fluid loop transfers the instrument waste heat to JAXA’s Japanese Exposed Module External Facility (JEM-EF) provided external fluid loop before rejection to space from the ISS radiators. The passive TCS includes multi-layer and single layer insulations, flexible thermal links and coatings on the radiometer. This paper describes the ECOSTRESS instrument TCS architecture, instrument thermal requirements and key design drivers, the top level thermal design and analysis approach, and reports preliminary test results.

Carroll, Brian↗
NASA NTRS1989

Analysis of internal ablation for the thermal control of aerospace vehicles

A new method of thermal protection for transatmospheric vehicles is introduced. The method involves the combination of radiation, ablation and transpiration cooling. By placing an ablating material behind a fixed-shape, porous outer shield, the effectiveness of transpiration cooling is made possible while retaining the simplicity of a passive mechanism. A simplified one-dimensional approach is used to derive the governing equations. Reduction of these equations to non-dimensional form yields two parameters which characterize the thermal protection effectiveness of the shield and ablator combination for a given trajectory. The non-dimensional equations are solved numerically for a sample trajectory corresponding to glide re-entry. Four typical ablators are tested and compared with results obtained by using the thermal properties of water. For the present level of analysis, the numerical computations adequately support the analytical model.

Camberos, Jose A.↗
NASA NTRS1996

4482 Element Multispectral Hybrid PV/PC HgCdTe IRFPA for High Resolution Coverage of 3.7 - 15.4 Micrometers for the AIRS Instrument

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) is a key facility instrument in the NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) program, being implemented to obtain comprehensive long-term measurements of earth processes affecting global change. The instrument performs passive IR remote sensing using a high resolution grating spectrometer with a wide spectral coverage (3.7 - 15.4 m) directing radiation onto a hybrid HgCdTe IRFPA operating at 58K in a vacuum package cooled to 155K. The hybrid HgCdTe FPA consists of twelve modules, 10 with multiplexed photovoltaic detectors and two with individually leaded out photoconductive detectors. The complex FPA has a large optical footprint, 53 mm x 66 mm, and receives energy dispersed from the grating through a precision filter assembly containing 17 narrow band filters. The backside illuminated PV detector arrays are fabricated from P-on-n double layer LPE grown heterojunction detectors in a bilinear format of 50 m x 100 m detectors, with from 232 to 420 detectors per module. For the MWIR bands four PV modules cover the 3.7 m to 8.22 m region. Low detector capacitance and low noise preamplifiers in the ROIC are key to achieving high sensitivities in these bands. Uniform quantum efficiencies and detectivities exceeding 3E13 cm-rtHz/W have been achieved. The LWIR region is covered by six PV modules spanning 8.8 m to 13.75 m. High detector resistance and very low ROIC preamplifier input noise are key to achieving high sensitivity. A detectivity exceeding 2E11 cm-rtHz/W has been achieved at the longest wavelength. Two additional PC modules cover the longest spectral bands out to 15.4 m. This high performance multispectral focal plane has been built and integrated with the dewar assembly, and is currently being integrated with the complete AIRS sensor.

Rutter, James↗
NASA NTRS1977

Passive cooler

A three stage passive cooler for use in a spacecraft for cooling an infra-red detector includes a detector mounting cold plate for mounting the detector directly to the telescope optics. The telescope optics collect and direct the infra-red radiation from the earth, for example, to the infra-red detector, and are mounted directly to the spacecraft. The remaining stages of the cooler are mounted with thermal insulators to each other and to the spacecraft at separate locations from the detector mounting cold plate.

Aronson, Albert Irving↗
NASA NTRS2012

James Webb Space Telescope Integrated Science Instrument Module Calibration and Verification of High-Accuracy Instrumentation to Measure Heat Flow in Cryogenic Testing

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is an upcoming flagship observatory mission scheduled to be launched in 2018, Three of the four science instruments are passively cooled to their operational temperature range of 36K to 40K, and the fourth instrument is actively cooled to its operational temperature of approximately 6K. The requirement for multiple thermal zones results in the instruments being thermally connected to five external radiators via individual high purity aluminum heat straps. Thermal-vacuum and thermal balance testing of the flight instruments at the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) element level will take place within a newly constructed shroud cooled by gaseous helium inside Goddard Space Flight Center's (GSFC) Space Environment Simulator (SES). The flight external radiators are not available during ISIM-Ievel thermal vacuum/thermal testing, so they will be replaced in test with stable and adjustable thermal boundaries with identical physical interfaces to the flight radiators. Those boundaries are provided on specially designed test hardware which measures the heat flow within each of the five heat straps to an accuracy of less than 2 m W, which is less than 5% of the minimum predicted heat flow values. This is essential to ISIM thermal model correlation, since thermal models are more accurately correlated when temperature data is supplemented by accurate knowledge of heat flows. Devices that measure heat flow in this manner have historically been referred to as "Q-meters". Perhaps the most important feature of the design of the Q-meters is that it does not depend on the absolute accuracy of its temperature sensors, but rather on a difference in heater power, for which a table is empirically developed during a calibration campaign in a small chamber at GSFC. This paper discusses the Q-meter calibration procedure including calibration chamber modifications and accommodations, the handling of differing conditions between calibration and usage, the calibration process itself, and the results of the tests used to determine if the calibration is successful.

Comber, Brian↗
NASA NTRS2012

James Webb Space Telescope Integrated Science Instrument Module Calibration and Verification of High-Accuracy Instrumentation to Measure Heat Flow in Cryogenic Testing

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is an upcoming flagship observatory mission scheduled to be launched in 2018. Three of the four science instruments are passively cooled to their operational temperature range of 36K to 40K, and the fourth instrument is actively cooled to its operational temperature of approximately 6K. The requirement for multiple thermal zoned results in the instruments being thermally connected to five external radiators via individual high purity aluminum heat straps. Thermal-vacuum and thermal balance testing of the flight instruments at the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) element level will take place within a newly constructed shroud cooled by gaseous helium inside Goddard Space Flight Center's (GSFC) Space environment Simulator (SES). The flight external radiators are not available during ISIM-level thermal vacuum/thermal testing, so they will be replaced in test with stable and adjustable thermal boundaries with identical physical interfaces to the flight radiators. Those boundaries are provided by specially designed test hardware which also measures the heat flow within each of the five heat straps to an accuracy of less than 2 mW, which is less than 5% of the minimum predicted heat flow values. Measurement of the heat loads to this accuracy is essential to ISIM thermal model correlation, since thermal models are more accurately correlated when temperature data is supplemented by accurate knowledge of heat flows. It also provides direct verification by test of several high-level thermal requirements. Devices that measure heat flow in this manner have historically been referred to a "Q-meters". Perhaps the most important feature of the design of the JWST Q-meters is that it does not depend on the absolute accuracy of its temperature sensors, but rather on knowledge of precise heater power required to maintain a constant temperature difference between sensors on two stages, for which a table is empirically developed during a calibration campaign in a small chamber at GSFC. This paper provides a brief review of Q-meter design, and discusses the Q-meter calibration procedure including calibration chamber modifications and accommodations, handling of differing conditions between calibration and usage, the calibration process itself, and the results of the tests used to determine if the calibration is successful.

Comber, Brian↗
NASA NTRS2007

Multistage Passive Cooler for Spaceborne Instruments

A document describes a three-stage passive radiative cooler for a cryogenic spectrometer to be launched into a low orbit around the Moon. This cooler is relatively lightweight and compact, and its basic design is scalable and otherwise adaptable to other applications in which there are requirements for cooling instrumentation in orbit about planets. The cooler includes multiple lightweight flat radiator blades alternating with cylindrical parabolic infrared reflectors. The radiator blades are oriented at an angle chosen to prevent infrared loading from the Moon limb at the intended orbital altitude and attitude. The reflectors are shaped and oriented to position their foci outside the radiator surfaces. There are six radiator-blade/reflector pairs - two pairs for each stage of cooling. The radiator blades and reflectors are coated on their front and back surfaces with materials having various infrared emissivities, infrared reflectivities, and solar reflectivities so as to maximize infrared radiation to cold outer space and minimize inadvertent solar heating. The radiator blades and reflectors are held in place by a lightweight support structure, the components of which are designed to satisfy a complex combination of thermal and mechanical requirements.

Rodriquez, Jose I.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Monitoring Aerosols from Space: What We can Say, and What We Can't

Aerosols are understood to play a significant role is the global energy balance, and especially on atmospheric as well as surface energy balances regionally. A combination of direct radiative cooling of the surface, atmospheric warming through diabatic heating, and indirect effects of aerosol on clouds are all thought to contribute to the net aerosol effect, though the magnitudes of each are both highly variable in space and time, and highly uncertain. Passive space-based remote sensing is a key tool for constraining these effects, due to the frequent, global coverage satellites can provide. However, information from such observations about total-column aerosol amount (i.e., aerosol optical depth or AOD), and especially about aerosol type, is limited. The current generation of passive aerosol remote-sensing instruments, including the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) and the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) offer vast improvements over previous instruments, including AOD over water and much of the land surface, fine vs. coarse particle type over ocean from MODIS, and discrimination of about a dozen aerosol types from MISR under good retrieval conditions, based on particle size, shape, and single-scattering albedo (SSA) constraints. This presentation will summarize the capabilities and expected improvements in the currently available aerosol products, in light of required energy budget constraints. Ways of addressing the need for detailed information about particle microphysical properties, especially SSA, unobtainable from MISR or MODIS, will be discussed.

Kahn, Ralph A.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Carbon Dioxide Removal via Passive Thermal Approaches

A paper describes a regenerable approach to separate carbon dioxide from other cabin gases by means of cooling until the carbon dioxide forms carbon dioxide ice on the walls of the physical device. Currently, NASA space vehicles remove carbon dioxide by reaction with lithium hydroxide (LiOH) or by adsorption to an amine, a zeolite, or other sorbent. Use of lithium hydroxide, though reliable and well-understood, requires significant mass for all but the shortest missions in the form of lithium hydroxide pellets, because the reaction of carbon dioxide with lithium hydroxide is essentially irreversible. This approach is regenerable, uses less power than other historical approaches, and it is almost entirely passive, so it is more economical to operate and potentially maintenance- free for long-duration missions. In carbon dioxide removal mode, this approach passes a bone-dry stream of crew cabin atmospheric gas through a metal channel in thermal contact with a radiator. The radiator is pointed to reject thermal loads only to space. Within the channel, the working stream is cooled to the sublimation temperature of carbon dioxide at the prevailing cabin pressure, leading to formation of carbon dioxide ice on the channel walls. After a prescribed time or accumulation of carbon dioxide ice, for regeneration of the device, the channel is closed off from the crew cabin and the carbon dioxide ice is sublimed and either vented to the environment or accumulated for recovery of oxygen in a fully regenerative life support system.

Lawson, Michael↗
NASA NTRS2024

Passively Cooled Superconductors in Space

The objective of this project was to determine to what extent (as a function of distance from the Sun) our “Solar White” coatings could passively chill a high temperature superconductor (HTS) and maintain it in a superconducting state. The end goal is to enable the use of superconductors in space for active radiation shielding and highly efficient energy storage and retrieval. The best we were able to demonstrate during this testing was a coating with a solar absorptivity of 2.6%, which is sufficient to keep the superconductor we chose cold enough for these purposes at distances of 1.25 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun. Computations and modeling show that we would need samples with solar absorptivities of less than 1.5% for 1 AU and beyond operation. Our best tile to date was measured as having 1% absorption, which is still an order of magnitude higher than our theoretical limit. This should be achievable once manufacturing consistency is achieved. We are in the process of commercializing production of Solar White, and are hopeful that more consistent and improved results will be achieved within the coming year.

Mark Nurge↗
NASA NTRS2024

The Correlation Between Arctic Sea Ice, Cloud Phase and Radiation Using A-Train Satellites

Climate warming has a stronger impact on Arctic climate and sea ice cover (SIC) decline than previously thought. Better understanding and characterization of the relationship between sea ice and clouds and the implications for surface radiation is key to improving our confidence in Arctic climate projections. Here we analyze the relationship between sea ice, cloud phase and surface radiation over the Arctic, defined as north of 60° N, using active- and passive-sensor satellite observations from three different datasets. We find that all datasets agree on the climatology of and seasonal variability in total and liquid-bearing (liquid and mixed-phase) cloud covers. Similarly, our results show a robust relationship between decreased SIC and increased liquid-bearing clouds in the lowest levels (below 3 km) for all seasons (strongest in winter) but summer, while increased SIC and ice clouds are positively correlated in two of the three datasets. A refined map correlation analysis indicates that the relationship between SIC and liquid-bearing clouds can change sign over the Bering, Barents and Laptev seas, likely because of intrusions of warm air from low latitudes during winter and spring. Finally, the increase in liquid clouds resulting from decreasing SIC is associated with enhanced radiative cooling at the surface. Our findings indicate that the newly formed liquid clouds reflect more shortwave (SW) radiation back to space compared to the surface, generating a cooling effect of the surface, while their downward longwave (LW) radiation is similar to the upward LW surface emission, which has a negligible radiative impact on the surface. This overall cooling effect should contribute to dampening future Arctic surface warming as SIC continues to decline.

Arctic climate↗
NASA NTRS2016

Optimized Heat Pipe Backup Cooling System Tested with a Stirling Convertor

In a Stirling Radioisotope Power System (RPS), heat must be continuously removed from the General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) modules to maintain the modules and surrounding insulation at acceptable temperatures. The Stirling convertor normally provides this cooling. If the Stirling convertor stops in the current system, the insulation is designed to spoil, preventing damage to the GPHS at the cost of an early termination of the mission. An alkali-metal variable conductance heat pipe (VCHP) can be used to passively allow multiple stops and restarts of the Stirling convertor by bypassing the heat during stops. In a previous NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) developed a series of sodium VCHPs as backup cooling systems for the Stirling RPS. In 2012, one of these VCHPs was successfully tested at NASA Glenn Research Center with a Stirling convertor as an Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG) backup cooling system. The prototype; however, was not optimized and did not reflect the final heat rejection path. ACT through further funding has developed a semioptimized prototype with the finalized heat path for testing at Glenn with a Stirling convertor. The semioptimized system features a two-phase radiator and is significantly smaller and lighter than the prior prototype to reflect a higher level of flight readiness. The VCHP is designed to activate and remove heat from the GPHS during stoppage with a small temperature increase from the nominal vapor temperature. This small temperature increase from nominal is low enough to avoid risking standard ASRG operation and spoiling of the multilayer insulation (MLI). The VCHP passively allows the Stirling convertor to be turned off multiple times during a mission with potentially unlimited off durations. Having the ability to turn the Stirling off allows for the Stirling to be reset and reduces vibrations on the platform during sensitive measurements or procedures. This paper presents the design of the VCHP and its test results with a Stirling convertor at Glenn. Tests were carried for multiple on and off cycles to demonstrate repeatability. The impacts associated with the addition of the VCHP to the system are also addressed in terms of mass and additional heat losses due to the presence of the VCHP.

Heat Pipe↗