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A final test activity was carried out to complete the verification of the Environmental Control System (ECS) performances by experimentally reproducing the thermal hydraulic behaviour of the Environmental Control & Life Support Subsystem (ECLSS) section integrated in the overall Module, expected on analytical basis. A previous test campaign (called Columbus ECS PFM Test) carried out in EADS-Bremen in spring 2003 and described in paper number 2004-01-2425 showed some contradictory data concerning the air loop behaviour. These incoherent test results were related to the environmental and geometrical cabin loop conditions during the on-ground 1g test and to improper position of the sensor measuring the cabin temperature. For this reason a partial repetition of the test has been performed. In particular, this experimental campaign was focused on the verification of the cabin air temperature control, as a consequence of the Temperature Control Valve (TCV) movement.

Feasibility and preliminary phases of space projects are aimed to answer to the very fundamental question whether a spacecraft (S/C) exists that can fulfil the mission objectives. In particular the thermal engineers must assess whether a possible configuration is feasible from the thermal point of view, or what modifications could make it suitable. The paper presents the Thermal Concept Design Tool (TCDT), a new software tool under development at Blue Engineering and Alenia Spazio for the European Space Agency (ESA), designed with the objective to assist the thermal engineers in reducing at minimum the effort required by simulation activities and focusing mainly on conceptual activities during feasibility and preliminary studies.

The INTEGRAL (International Gamma Ray Astrophysics Laboratory) program is an ESA observatory scientific satellite to be used for gamma ray astronomy, It was successfully launched on the 17th of October 2002 with a Proton launcher from Baikonour Cosmodrome and after a dedicated Commissioning Phase it was ready to start its scientific mission. After 2 years the first lifetime goal (nominal lifetime) was reached and it entered the extended lifetime (3 additional years) Alenia Spazio, who had the role of Prime Contractor, was fully responsible of the Thermal Control of the satellite. During 2.5 years the satellite was carefully monitored and the thermal control design mounted on it has been capable to meet all the thermal requirements, providing the optimal thermal environment.

Radarsat-2 is a commercial Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite for earth observation. [1] The general stowed configuration is shown in Figure 1. In nominal operation mode, once deployed, the large SAR polarimetric Antenna (i.e. able to transmit and receive both horizontal and vertical polarisations) is inclined of about -29.8° versus the nominal direction of geodetic local surface normal (Right Looking mode). When is necessary to take images of South Pole, nominally not visible from SAR, the S/C must be rotated to the +29.8° position (Left Looking mode). During the Radarsat-2 thermal testing the S/C (PFM) was subjected to a first thermal balance/thermal cycling test in vacuum with simulation of external heat fluxes by means of I/R lamps and additional test heaters. A very complex thermal test configuration was required in order to simulate the continually varying thermal environment imposed by the S/C nominal sun-synchronous orbit and attitude.

ALTAN (ALenia Thermal ANalyser) is a tool developed in Alenia Spazio, for the thermal simulation of satellites. Distinctive features of ALTAN are the description of the system in terms of thermal objects that can be considered as high level primitives, the accurate modelling of the energy sources (planets and sun) and of the optical properties, the integration in a single tool of the steps of radiative, conductive and thermal calculations and of the post-process of the results. An example of ALTAN application is given for Bepi-Colombo mission to Mercury, in particular the modelling of the highly variable planet temperature and the directional optical properties of the planet surface.

The Columbus ECS PFM Test was intended as the final verification of the Module Thermal Design after a series of successful tests at subsystems level (e.g. the Active Thermal Control Subsystem and the Environmental Control and Life Support System) The test campaign has been articulated as a sequence of several test cases to investigate the main thermal aspects, to prove the Module thermal design in the extreme operative conditions and to correlate the thermal mathematical model (TMM). The interpretation of test results and the correlation confirmed that the thermal design of the module is adequate, but some areas of concern remain, mainly for the difficulty to translate to 0-g the results of a complex test in 1-g environment, and for some aspects of the air and cabin loops.

The INTEGRAL (International Gamma Ray Astrophysics Laboratory) program is an ESA observatory scientific satellite to be used for gamma ray astronomy, while ARTEMIS (Advanced Data Relay and Technology Mission) is an ESA program to be used for data relay and technology demonstration. ARTEMIS was launched on the 12th of July 2001 with an Ariane V launcher from CSG, after successful completion of the System Environmental test campaign at ESTEC including Solar Simulation Thermal Balance tests on PFM (1998). INTEGRAL has been successfully launched on the 17th of October 2002 with a Proton launcher from Baikonour Cosmodrome, after completion of the System Environmental test campaign at ESTEC including Solar Simulation Thermal Balance tests on STM (1998) and PFM (2002).

The Fluid Science Laboratory (FSL) is an advanced multi-user facility for conducting fluid physics research in microgravity conditions. It will be installed in the Columbus module of the International Space Station (ISS) scheduled for launch in 2004. FSL is being developed by a European industrial team, led by ALENIA SPAZIO of Italy, and managed by the European Space Agency (ESA). The FSL Thermal Environment Control (TEC) establishes a defined thermal environment during the complete experiment duration to keep the experiment and the supporting subsystems within their thermal requirements. The TEC is further subdivided into three sections. The Air Cooling Section is based on the Avionics Air Assembly (AAA) which generates air streams inside the Facility to collect, by forced convection, the waste heat from the electronics belonging to the various Subsystems. The Secondary Water Loop (SWL) cooling Section provides the cooled water to the Experiment Container.

In the ANNIE project - Applications of Neural Networks to Integrated Ergonomics - BE96-3433, a tool for integrating ergonomics into the design process is developed. This paper presents some features in the current ANNIE as applied to the design of car interiors. A variant of the ERGOMan mannequin with vision is controlled by a hybrid system for neuro-fuzzy simulation. It is trained by using an Elite system for registration of movements. An example of a trajectory generated by the system is shown. A fuzzy model is used for comfort evaluation. An experiment was performed to test its feasibility and it showed very promising results.