Thermal vacuum chambers are ideal for testing components in a simulated space environment. Not only do they enable spacecraft components to be tested in a space-like vacuum, but they also allow component performance to be assessed under varying temperatures.

As Lockheed Martin explains:

The fundamental purpose of thermal vacuum testing is to understand the satellite’s performance through environmental extremes and thus increase mission assurance through a test-like-you-fly environmental testing program. 

 LifeLAB includes two thermal vacuum chambers, JANA and RALPHEE.

Thermal vacuum

JANA

JANA was generously donated to CU by the Sierra Nevada Corporation. The smaller of the two, JANA is used for small-scale testing of spaceflight components. For example, JANA was used by Professor Nabity's Spacecraft Life Support Systems (ASN 6116) class to determine the impact of lunar dust on radiator emissivity. 

Currently, JANA is capable of both pump-down and thermal control. It can be cooled to a temperature of roughly -190 C (-310 F), achieve a pressure of 2x10^-6 torr and complete an experiment cycle in 3-4 hours.

RALPHEE

Roughly an order of magnitude bigger than JANA, RALPHEE allows for the testing of larger components. For example, RALPHEE can be used to test a full-scale radiator for an EVA suit.

RALPHEE is capable of pumping down to a vacuum; however, it does not currently have thermal control capability. Adding this capability is a task for LifeLAB during the 2015-2016 academic year. 

-Written By: Ari Sandberg, Intern