Kentucky Community & Technical College System
Developing a Liquid Nitrogen Cooling System as Sub-System to a Cubesat-Scale Thermal-Vacuum Space Environmental Testing Chamber
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Vincent DiNoto Jr.; James Lumpp
Abstract
Documentation for development of Kentucky Space’s Environmental Testing Chamber for CubeSats, a facility of Kentucky Space, Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation, is intended to assist its developers to greater understanding of the dynamics of this facility. Substitute systematic configurations are many; therefore, an optimized system will be designed, built with hardware that is cyrogenically rated, tested with thermocouples, quantitatively analyzed, and redesigned. CubeSats, intended for low Earth orbit, may be subjected to the Kentucky Space Environmental Testing Chamber in preparation for orbital missions. It is known that the near-Earth space environment consists of temperature variation ranging from -30˚ to 60˚ C. Additionally, atmospheric pressure is absent. The focus of this research involves developing the liquid nitrogen (LN2) cooling system to cooperate with the fixed heating and vacuum systems. The heattransfer rate from CubeSat to coolant represents the test-chamber’s unknown variable, while orifice area, Dewar pressure, and flow-rate constitute the known variables. The hypothesis rests on the idea that the quantity of liquid nitrogen required to cool the satellite from 60˚ to -30˚ C can be quantitatively predetermined. Knowledge of both satellite mass and composition will yield specific heat capacity. The cooling medium has quantifiable physical properties. Any deviation found between the nitrogen’s predicted consumption and its experimentally determined consumption may then be reviewed as impetus for further inquiry into related areas such as emissivity and fluid dynamics. It follows that analysis serves to identify the means to enhanced accounting and predictability.
Developing a Liquid Nitrogen Cooling System as Sub-System to a Cubesat-Scale Thermal-Vacuum Space Environmental Testing Chamber
Documentation for development of Kentucky Space’s Environmental Testing Chamber for CubeSats, a facility of Kentucky Space, Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation, is intended to assist its developers to greater understanding of the dynamics of this facility. Substitute systematic configurations are many; therefore, an optimized system will be designed, built with hardware that is cyrogenically rated, tested with thermocouples, quantitatively analyzed, and redesigned. CubeSats, intended for low Earth orbit, may be subjected to the Kentucky Space Environmental Testing Chamber in preparation for orbital missions. It is known that the near-Earth space environment consists of temperature variation ranging from -30˚ to 60˚ C. Additionally, atmospheric pressure is absent. The focus of this research involves developing the liquid nitrogen (LN2) cooling system to cooperate with the fixed heating and vacuum systems. The heattransfer rate from CubeSat to coolant represents the test-chamber’s unknown variable, while orifice area, Dewar pressure, and flow-rate constitute the known variables. The hypothesis rests on the idea that the quantity of liquid nitrogen required to cool the satellite from 60˚ to -30˚ C can be quantitatively predetermined. Knowledge of both satellite mass and composition will yield specific heat capacity. The cooling medium has quantifiable physical properties. Any deviation found between the nitrogen’s predicted consumption and its experimentally determined consumption may then be reviewed as impetus for further inquiry into related areas such as emissivity and fluid dynamics. It follows that analysis serves to identify the means to enhanced accounting and predictability.