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System Accommodation of Propylene Loop Heat Pipes For The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) InstrumentLoop Heat Pipes (LHP) are used for precise temperature control for NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) Instrument in a widely varying LEO thermal environment. Two propylene LHPs are utilized to provide separate thermal control for the Nd:YAG Lasers and the remaining avionics/detector components suite. Despite a rigorous engineering development and test plan to demonstrate the performance in the restrictive GLAS design, the flight units failed initial thermal vacuum acceptance testing at GSFC. Subsequent investigation revealed that compromises in the mechanical packaging of these systems resulted in inadequate charge levels for a concentric wick LHP. The redesign effort included larger compensation chambers that provide more fluid to the wick for start-up scenarios and highlighted the need to fully understand the limitations and accommodation requirements of new technologies in a system design application. Once again, seemingly minor departures from heritage configurations and limited resources led to performance and operational issues. This paper provides details into the GLAS LHP engineering development program and acceptance testing of the flight units, including the redesign effort.
Document ID
20010103203
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Grob, Eric W.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Powers, Edward I.
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
January 10, 2001
Subject Category
Fluid Mechanics And Thermodynamics
Report/Patent Number
SAE-01ICES-178
Meeting Information
Meeting: 31st International Conference on Environmental Systems
Location: Orlando, FL
Country: United States
Start Date: July 9, 2001
End Date: July 12, 2001
Sponsors: Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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