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NASA Team Develops a Test Article to Demonstrate “Zero Boil-Off” Storage of Liquid Hydrogen via Cryocoolers and a Two-Stage Cooling ApproachFunded by NASA’s Technology Demonstration Mission Program and managed by the Cryogenic Fluid Management Portfolio Project, a NASA team is developing a test article to demonstrate the “zero boil-off” storage of liquid hydrogen using active cooling (cryocoolers) and a two-stage cooling approach. The current state of the art for storage of liquid hydrogen on-orbit is on the order of hours while future missions may require storage for months or even years. To enable such extended storage durations, “near zero” propellant loss, or “zero boil-off”, must be achieved. This may be accomplished with the implementation of “near zero” leakage components, a high performing suite of passive technologies to minimize the environmental heat loads, and active cooling via cryocoolers to intercept and remove heat from the propellant tanks and associated structure. Of course, with any cryogenic vehicle and mission, a mass and power trade should be conducted to determine if it is indeed feasible to carry the additional dry mass associated with active cooling, or if one could simply carry additional propellants to accommodate propellant loss which is typically not an option for a long duration mission.
Document ID
20230010497
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Other - Magazine
Authors
Jonathan R Stephens
(Marshall Space Flight Center Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, United States)
Date Acquired
July 17, 2023
Publication Date
September 15, 2023
Publication Information
Publication: Cold Facts
Publisher: Cryogenic Society of America
Volume: 39
Issue: 3
Issue Publication Date: September 15, 2023
URL: https://www.cryogenicsociety.org/cold-facts
Subject Category
Propellants and Fuels
Funding Number(s)
WBS: 448428.05.03.02.62
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Portions of document may include copyright protected material.
Technical Review
Single Expert
Keywords
Hydrogen Storage
Zero Boil-Off
Two-Stage Cooling
Active Cooling
Cryogenic Fluid Management
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