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After several years of development the first European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) developed by ESA called Jules Verne completed successfully its seven-month ISS logistics mission. Launched the 9 March 2008 on an Ariane 5 launcher, the ATV performed the 3 April 2008 its rendezvous and docking to the International Space Station to which it remained attached for five months. This paper presents in a first part the ATV thermal control architecture based on a innovative active thermal control design built around 40 Variable Conductance Heat Pipes (VCHP) controlling the heat rejection and in a second part the in-flight thermal control behavior of the ATV Jules Verne observed during the seven months mission in both free flight and attached to ISS phases.

In recent years there is growing interest, on the part of the remote sensing community, in using the Antarctic area, for calibrating and validating data of satellite-borne microwave radiometers. With a view to the launching of the ESA's SMOS satellite, which is a satellite designed to observe soil moisture over the Earth landmasses, salinity over the oceans and to provide observations over regions of ice and snow, an experimental activity called DOMEX was started at Dome-C Antarctica. The main scientific objectives of this activity are to provide microwave data for SMOS satellite calibration and in particular: the continuous acquisition of a calibrated time-series of microwave and thermal Infrared (8-14micron) emission over an entire Austral annual cycle, the acquisition of a long time-series of snow measurements and the acquisition of relevant local atmospheric measurements from the local weather station. This paper is focusing on the thermal design, analysis and testing of Domex-2.

Jules Verne (JV) is the name of the first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) developed by ASTRIUM Space Transportation on behalf of European Space Agency (ESA). JV was launched the 9 March 2008 by ARIANE 5 and performed the 3 April 2008 its automatic rendezvous and docking to the International Space Station (ISS) to which it remained attached up to the 5 September 2008. In the meantime, JV has provided the ISS with dry and fluid cargo and performed one refueling, four ISS re-boosts and one Debris Avoidance Maneuver. JV completed its successful mission by offloading waste and was destroyed during its re-entry the 29 September 2008. Generally, development and verification of Power management rely on classical thermal and electrical engineering.

Jules Verne – the first ATV model developed by ASTRIUM on behalf of ESA – has been controlled by CNES Toulouse Control Centre from March to September 2008. The Engineering Support Team (EST) was in charge to provide System expertise and to propose relevant recommendations in case of off nominal situations. This paper deals with the operations carried out by the EST Thermal position during the JV flight, such as: Identification of thermal anomalies triggered by onboard software or by ground monitoring; Analysis of actual situation from available flight data; Correction implemented thanks to a complete set of commands and procedures; Check on the on-board configuration after correction uploading.

Final preparation and configuration of the Columbus module at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) required the performance of system level tests with the Active Thermal Control System (ATCS). These tests represented the very last system level activities having been concluded on the Columbus module before handover to NASA for space shuttle integration. Those very last tests, performed with the ATCS comprised the final ATCS Leakage Test, the final calibration and adjustment of the Water Flow Selection Valves (WFSV) and Water On/Off Valves (WOOV) as well as a sophisticated ATCS Residual Air Removal test. The above listed tests have been successfully performed and test data evaluated for verification closeout as well as input delivery for operational Flight Rules and Procedures. Some of the above mentioned tests have been performed the first time hence, a succeeding lessons learned collection followed in order to improve the perspectives of future tests.

Because of the reduction on the remaining Shuttle launches, the initial mission that was assigned for MELFI, the Minus Eighty degrees Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS, has been significantly modified. While the design was made for a MELFI flying 15 times over a period of 10 years with individual missions no longer than 2 years, present scenario requires to have MELFI in orbit up to 7 years. Extending the MELFI on orbit life from two to seven years has required staggered assessments, each of them aiming at preserving as much as possible the existing design. The potential life limited items are evaluated. On orbit maintenance will be extended for a longer period and maintenance activities foreseen initially to be done on ground between flights will be adapted for orbit. Degraded modes are evaluated so that MELFI ensures its mission at the end of the life even with some off-nominal conditions.

The Automated Transfer Vehicle will provide ISS with reboost, attitude control functions, with water, gas and propellant and with dry cargo. It is a 20 tons expendable vehicle launched by Ariane. It performs a rendezvous and docking with the Russian Segment. It remains attached up to 6 months before a destructive reentry. During PDR campaign, it was decided to change the ATV Thermal Control System from semi-passive (see reference 1) to active system to comply with electrical power budget and get the ATV power autonomy. This system is based on 40 Variable Conductance Heat Pipes controlling the heat rejection of the avionics items toward space. This paper presents the new thermal control system of the ATV and its verification and qualification logic.

Temperature and humidity control are vital functions of an environmental control and life support system in a manned spacecraft. A MCHX Technology Demonstrator has been developed using hollow fiber membranes to remove heat and water vapor from the cabin air. The functional principle of the MCHX is based on micro porous hydrophobic hollow fiber membranes. Heat and water vapor are transferred through the membrane to the cooling the water. The water vapor will condense at the cooling water side. The technique promises a good alternative for the conventional noisy and power-consuming rotary condensate separator. This paper describes the MCHX development work including the rational for its concept, the module design and its performance data as a result of numerical predictions and a test campaign. The MCHX performance requirements are linked to those of the Columbus Laboratory, the European contribution to the International Space Station (ISS).

Membrane gas absorption for the control of CO2 in manned spacecrafts is studied by Stork and TNO. Membrane Gas Absorption (MGA) is based on the combination of membrane separation and gas absorption. The cabin air of a spacecraft is fed along one side of a hydrophobic membrane. The air diffuses through the membrane and the CO2 is selectively absorbed by an absorption liquid. Experiments showed that the MGA system can not only be used for the removal of the carbon dioxide but also can be applied to control the relative humidity and temperature of the cabin atmosphere. Absorption of moisture and heat is achieved by cooling the absorption liquid below the dewpoint temperature of the gas stream. This paper deals with the design aspects of a MGA system for combined CO2, humidity and thermal control aboard the Crew Transfer Vehicle. Furthermore, design data are presented for a similar system aboard the International Space Station.

The Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) is a European Space Agency (ESA) servicing and logistics transportation system for the periodic re-supply of the International Space Station (ISS). The ATV will be launched by Ariane 5 and will provide the following services to the ISS: refuelling of the ISS (transfer of fuel from ATV to the station), reboost of the ISS (increasing the station’s orbit altitude, using the ATV’s propulsion system), delivery of cargo such as compressed air, water and pressurised payloads to the station, destruction of waste from the station. The ATV is composed of the so-called Spacecraft (SC) and an Integrated Cargo Carrier (ICC). The Spacecraft includes the propulsion, reboost and attitude control systems, the avionics and the solar generator system.

The Minus Eighty (Degrees Celsius) Laboratory Freezer for the International Space Station (MELFI) is one of the freezers developed by ESA on behalf of NASA. Peculiar requirements for that facility are the long-term storage at low temperature, the rapid freezing of specimen to the required temperature, the large cold volume (300 l) and the low power consumption. To verify those requirements before the manufacturing of the flight hardware, a dedicated test campaign was performed on a ground model. This paper will start with a system overview, showing the main features of MELFI. The test set-up as well as their results will be presented and discussed, with particular emphasis on the methods used to predict the on-orbit (0-gravity) behaviour, by avoiding the sample internal convection and dewar internal convection during the test execution.

This paper presents the status of ongoing BB studies for an optimized trace gas monitoring (TGM) system configured to simultaneously and quasi-online detect (quantitatively and qualitatively) 30 different trace gases in manned spacecraft. The system principle relies on the detection of molecule absorption lines in the infrared being converted into a measured spectrum by a Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectrometer. The work is based on 10 years study phases aiming now towards performance demonstration on unknown gas mixtures and an in-flight demonstration on Space Shuttle or ISS. The theoretical background, sensor combinations, SW principle descriptions and multi-module monitoring strategies have been reported earlier (please refer to reference [1] - [4], [6]).

Two ESA facilities will be available for plant research and other biological experiments on the International Space Station: the European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) in the US “Destiny” Module and BIOLAB in the European “Columbus” Laboratory. Both facilities use standard experiment containers, mounted on centrifuges and connected to life support systems, allowing telescience-controlled acceleration studies (0.001×g up to 2.0×g) and continuation of microgravity research on protoplasts, callus cultures, algae, fungi and seedlings, as earlier flown on Biorack, and new experiments with larger specimens of fungi, mosses and vascular plants.

As part of the European contribution to the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS), the European Robotic Arm (ERA) is designed under contract of the European Space Agency by Fokker Space as the Prime contractor. The particularly challenging aspect of the ERA thermal design is to enable ERA operation under all possible in-orbit thermal environmental conditions which are to be experienced throughout its 10 year life. These conditions can be between extreme cold without sunlight for hibernation to extreme hot with ERA operating in full sunlight in close vicinity to a large station item, for instance, the solar arrays. First a short description of the ERA system is given with a summary of the main thermal design features. The system level thermal balance test on the ERA Engineering Qualification Model (EQM) is intended to validate the system level thermal model, which consists of the subsystem thermal models as supplied by the respective subcontractors.

The electric current which circulates downwards in the Earth atmosphere results from the motion of positive and negative ions drifting in opposite directions under the influence of an electric field. A body such as a balloon or a gondola, moving upwards against the electric field collects an excess of positive ions, whereas a falling body, such as a water drop, may acquire a negative charge. In a similar way, parcels of hot and cold air ascending or descending in a cloud are selectively charged. This model is proposed as an explanation for the charge separation mechanism which takes place within thunderstorm clouds characterized by vigourous turbulence and convection.

An advanced trace gas monitoring system for long duration manned space missions - such as the International Space Station - is discussed. The system proposed is a combination of a Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) and a distributed ‘Smart Gas Sensor system (SGS). In a running multi-phase programme [1,2] the FTIR technology, applying novel analysis methods, has been demonstrated to handle multi-component gas measurements, including identification and quantification of 20 important trace gases in a mixture. In the current phase 3, initiated end of 1997, a fully operational FTIR technology demonstration model will be manufactured and tested. The SGS consists of an array of twenty electrically conductive polymer sensors supplemented with an array of quartz crystal microbalance sensors. The technology has been tested on the Russian MIR space station and is currently miniaturized into a second-generation flight model.

The Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) is a European Space Agency autonomous, expendable logistic transportation system for Low Earth Orbit. The ATV will be launched by Ariane 5 and its mission is to contribute to the logistic servicing of the International Space Station: via the delivery of a cargo (crew items, scientific experiments, spare parts..) as well as of fluids such as propellant, water and compressed air via the provision of an extra service consisting of retrieving the station wastes when departing (replacing the upcoming cargo) and getting rid of them through the final destructive atmospheric re-entry of the ATV itself via the contribution to the orbit control of ISS by providing a reboost and attitude control capability to the ISS. The ATV consists of a Spacecraft and an Integrated Cargo Carrier. The Spacecraft includes all subsystems necessary for the automated flight to the ISS and for the reboost, including the propellant tanks and the thrusters.

In a harmonized ESA/NIVR project the performance of membrane gas absorption for the simultaneous removal of carbon dioxide and moisture has been determined experimentally at carbon dioxide and humidity concentration levels representative for spacecraft conditions. Performance data at several experimental conditions have been collected. Removal of moisture can be controlled by the temperature of the absorption liquid. Removal of carbon dioxide is slightly affected by the temperature of the absorption liquid. Based on these measurements a conceptual design for a carbon dioxide and humidity control system for the Crew Transport Vehicle (CTV) is made. For the regeneration step in this design a number of assumptions have been made. The multifunctionality of membrane gas absorption makes it possible to combine a number of functions in one compact system.