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The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) is a particle physics detector designed to measure charged cosmic rays spectra and high energy photons on board of the International Space Station (ISS). The large acceptance (0.5 m2sr), the long mission duration (3 years) and the state of the art particle identification techniques will allow AMS to provide the most sensitive search up to date for the existence of anti matter nuclei and for the origin of dark matter. AMS02 now is in its final integration phase at CERN. To verify the functional performance of the detectors and of the key subsystems of the Thermal Control System under vacuum condition and to validate the thermal mathematical model of AMS02 a system level thermo-vacuum test will be performed in the Large Space Simulator (LSS) of ESA at ESTEC (the Netherlands).

The AMS-02 experiment is a space-born instrument designed to perform high precision measurements of cosmic rays and γ-ray fluxes on board of the International Space Station (ISS). All the components of the AMS experiment are designed to withstand the mechanical stresses in the launch phase and to operate in vacuum in a wide range of temperatures. In order to verify the performance of the hardware in harsh conditions like the flight ones, all the components of the AMS instruments undergo a severe qualification procedure before the integration into the detector. In this paper, we will report on the thermo-vacuum tests on the L-TOF (Lower Time of Flight) and ECAL (Electromagnetic CALorimeter) detectors, successfully performed in the SERMS laboratory in June and September 2006, respectively.

The SERMS laboratory (Study of Radiation Effects on Materials for Space Applications) is a joint laboratory of the Perugia University and the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN). It is located in Terni, as part of a network of research laboratories and test facilities at the Engineering Faculty of the University premises in Terni. Constituted in 1995, the SERMS laboratory has provided support to major scientific projects in the field of astrophysics and astroparticle physics, as the GLAST, LAZIO-SIRAD and AMS Projects. Since 2004, an university spin-off - the SERMS s.r.l. - contributes to the SERMS development and extends the field of its activities to industrial projects. In this paper, an overview of the SERMS laboratory with a brief description of all the equipment and some examples of thermal analysis, design and thermo-vacuum tests done in the laboratory will be presented.

This paper describes the Thermal Balance test that has been performed on EuTEF (European Technology Exposure Facility) platform, to be flown in October 2007 as an attached payload of Columbus module to the ISS. The thermal control system of EuTEF is based on a passive concept, with several different payloads being each one a self-standing technological experiment, with a centralized power supply and data handling. Each instrument has its own TCS, independent one another: they are individually insulated by MLI. The test has been performed with EuTEF Flight Model (FM) on the Passive Attach System to have representative thermal flight-like interfaces. Simulation of close-to-real flight environmental heat loads have been accomplished in a vacuum chamber (at INTESPACE, Toulouse-F) by means of a solar beam and a spin table suitably oriented to simulate a critical identified orbit, among all the possible on the ISS.

This paper reports on the thermal testing of AGILE (Astro-rivelatore Gamma a Immagini LEggero) satellite flight model, conducted in June/July 2006 at IABG test facility. The paper describe the satellite mission, the logic for the selection of the test configuration, the test set-up and the test phases. The test results are presented and test-model (of the scientific instruments) correlation analysis between measured and calculated are discussed.

This paper reports on the approach followed for the TCS verification of the payload AMS-02 (Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer), aiming at the qualification of the entire system, in steps, for the space environment. AMS-02 is a state-of-the-art experiment composed by a stack of seven different particle detectors, each of them having its own electronics and control equipments. It will be installed on the International Space Station Starboard segment S3 of the main Truss, and will be a 6500 kg payload, with a power consumption of 2000 W. The verification philosophy is driven by the need to qualify the flight hardware and by the necessary confirmation and correlation of the thermal mathematical models, based on experimental data. The hardware used on AMS-02 is derived from the state-of-the-art ground based detectors for high energy physics, hence not yet proven for operations in vacuum and in extreme thermal environment.

The satellite AGILE (Astro-rivelatore Gamma a Immagini LEggero, “Light Gamma Ray Imaging Detector”) is a promising instrument for near-earth space research of the Italian Space(ASI) during the years 2007-2009: its scientific instrumentation has optimal imaging capabilities in both the gamma-ray energy range (30 MeV - 30 GeV) and hard X-ray range (15 - 45 keV). It will study the phenomena occurring in the high energy spectrum, such as: Active Galactic Nuclei, Gamma Ray Bursts, Gamma-ray Galactic Diffuse Emission, and more. The satellite was designed and built in years 2004-2006; this paper describes the design of the thermal control system of the satellite, with a survey of the flight prediction. As an example of uncertainty reduction, MLI performance characterization by test was done in an early phase of the AIV phase (i.e. well before the system level test), to meet stringent payload requirements in terms of temperature gradients and temperature stability.

Four different thermal-vacuum tests were performed on AMICA Star Tracker (AST) in the period March-July 2006 in the space simulator of the SERMS laboratory in Terni-Italy. Each of these tests was designed to verify different AST camera design features. The Thermal Balance test was conceived to validate the thermo-elastic model of the instrument and the active and passive thermal control subsystems. The Thermal Vacuum Cycling test was conceived to validate the AST electronics operative and survival temperature limits under vacuum conditions. The worst hot and cold operative and survival limits of the lens and filters in the AST optical system were assessed by means of the “Sun in the lens” and Lens Cold tests.

This paper updates on the Thermal Control System (TCS) of AMS (Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer). The Shuttle fleet grounding, after Columbia accident February 2003, has caused a delay in the AMS-02 project schedule, allowing to put additional effort on the TCS design optimization. This paper accounts for two-years extended numerical simulations, leading to a stable TCS baseline design. AMS (shown in Figure 1) is to be installed on the International Space Station (ISS) Starboard segment of the Truss, where it shall acquire data for three years with the Superfluid Helium magnet powered ON. After Superfluid Helium tank is depleted, operations continue taking data with instruments not requiring the magnetic field of the super-conducting magnet; this allows a fine characterization of the spectrum of atoms nuclei, for Solar System human exploration purposes. AMS payload has a mass of about 6500 kg, and a power budget of about 2kW.

This paper describes the Thermal Balance test that has been performed on the PAMELA telescope Pressurized Container (PC) to verify the performance of the PC Thermal Control System (TCS). The PC will be attached outside the Russian satellite RESOURS DK to be flown in2004 The thermal control system of the PAMELA PC is based on a mechanical pumped loop fed with Isooctane as working fluid. The test has been performed with PAMELA Structural Thermal Model (STM) inside the PC to have representative interfaces for the thermal control system. Simulation of close-to-real flight environmental heat loads have been accomplished in a vacuum chamber by means of a complex system of IR lamps suitably oriented toward the PC and mechanically mounted on a tubular structure outside the PC. Overall test results have been excellent; PAMELA thermal control system thermal/fluidic requested performance have been verified. PAMELA telescope thermal interfaces have been confirmed as well.

The EC (Experiment Container) FASES (Fundamental and Applied Studies on Emulsion Stability) is an ESA scientific payload dedicated to the investigations of emulsion stability. FASES will fly in the FSL (Fluid Science Laboratory) rack in the ISS Columbus module. The challenging requirements are the minimum temperature (−50°C) to be reached and the cooling rate to be achieved (2°C/min) for three different types of samples with an accuracy of 0.1°C. The identified solutions are two active temperature control devices based on thermo-electric coolers (TEC): a Thermostatic Chamber (THC) that manages two type of samples (ITEM-S and ITEM-F) a mini-calorimeter (CAL) that handles the third one (EMPI). Considering the operative ranges, a multi-cascade TEC has been selected to fulfill the requirements. The performance of a multi-cascade TEC made up of separate single stages is also investigated.

Being in charge of the thermal design and analysis for three external payloads that will fly on the ISS (EuTEF, EUROPA and LOBSTER) we highlight in this paper the commonality among them: they are attached to standard adapter plates and have standard resources in terms of power and mass allocation. These payloads, despite these commonalities have specific features due to the different scientific targets, are in different development phases and occupy various locations outside the International Space Station (ISS). Even if thermal requirements are not substantially different the different locations imply different environment and therefore different thermal control solution. Also analytical models of the ISS are different due to ISS development phase and details in proximity of payload location. The paper goes through common thermal design choices and specific solutions adapted to the specific needs of each of them.

This paper reports on the Thermal Control System (TCS) of the AMS-02 (Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer). AMS-02 will be installed on the International Space Station (ISS) Starboard segment of the Truss in 2005, where it will acquire data for at least three years. The AMS-02 payload has a mass of about 6700 kg, a power budget of 2kW and consists of 5 different instruments, with their associated electronic equipment. Analytical integration of the AMS-02 thermal mathematical model is described in the paper, together with the main thermal design features. Stringent temperature stability requirements have been satisfied, providing a stable thermal environment that allows for easier calibration of the detectors. The overall thermal design uses a combination of standard and innovative concepts to fit specific instruments needs.

This paper describes the thermal modeling and analyses performed on the LISA Technology Package (LTP), with special attention to the frequency domain requirements on the sensitive instrumentation. The new approach is presented, and the modeling and analysis phases are described in detail. Results about LTP thermal stability in the frequency domain are shown, and obtained though two alternate approaches. The first one consists in the study of the transient response of the system to a periodic input with a frequency equal to the minimum frequency of interest, using the well known low-pass filtering properties of the thermal systems. The second is based on the generation of a time dependent input, starting from its Power Spectral Density definition: this input is used to run a transient thermal analysis and finally transform its results into the frequency domain. Thermal stability assessment studies have been performed also at spacecraft level and are well described in [ref. 3].