R & D Approach
The Thermal Engineering Branch exists to develop the thermal systems needed to maintain Goddard-sponsored instruments and spacecraft at their operating temperatures. (Where operating temperatures range from room temperature down to cryogenic temperatures.)
This usually involves two main tasks:
- removing heat from components that generate it and
- shielding the spacecraft from external sources of heat, such as the sun.
To accomplish this, we work with other NASA centers, with DOD, and with industry.
We continue to work on improving the available thermal technologies, to make them cheaper, lighter, and more precise. Our research focuses on technologies that are already fairly well along in development, that is, technologies that could quickly be adapted to upcoming missions.
Why We Fly Experiments in Space
Although we carry out many experiments here on Earth, we also need to test our new technologies in space. Here are some of the reasons:
- Many advanced thermal control devices use capillary forces to manage the working fluid.
- Capillary forces are much smaller than earth gravity forces, so system operation on the ground can be very different from microgravity operation.
- The contamination environment of space cannot be adequately simulated on the ground.
- Flight experiments confirm that systems operate as expected, and provide input data for modeling programs for future system design.
Thermal Technology Development Flights
For more information about the following experiments see the Two Phase Systems page:
- Capillary Pumped Loop 2 (CAPL 2) on STS-69
- Capillary Pumped Loop 3 (CAPL 3) on STS-108
- Cryogenic Heat Pipe Flight Experiment (CRYOHP) on STS-53
- Heat Pipe Performance Flight Experiments (HPP) on STS-52 and STS-66
- Thermal Energy Management Processes 2A-3 (TEMP2A-3) on STS-46
- Two-Phase Flow Experiment (TPF) on STS-85
