Effectiveness and Value of Space Vehicle Thermal Vacuum Testing
Environmental testing of spacecraft flight hardware is performed to detect design and workmanship defects and verify mission requirements prior to launch. At the space vehicle level of assembly, the thermal vacuum test simulates an environment particularly well-suited for verifying mission performance requirements. In this paper, the test objectives of the space vehicle thermal vacuum test are reviewed and an assessment is made of the effectiveness and value of the test. Recent thermal vacuum test data is used to determine how the uniqueness of the thermal vacuum test environment achieves test purposes and how the test ensures mission assurance for space vehicles.Abstract
Contributor Notes
BIOGRAPHY
John W. Welch is the Associate Director of the Thermal Control Department at The Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo, CA. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Washington. His expertise includes thermal testing, interface thermal conductance, and spacecraft thermal design development. He is the principal author of thermal testing requirements found in MIL-STD-1540 and SMC-S-016. He has authored papers on thermal testing and taught courses on the subject through AIAA and UCLA. Furthermore, he is the author of the Thermal Testing chapter in the Spacecraft Thermal Control Handbook and the Satellite Thermal Control Handbook. His email address is john.w.welch@aero.org.
Dr. Bailey Z. Zhao is a member of the technical staff in the Thermal Control Department at The Aerospace Corporation. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Binghamton University, and earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology where his research focused on the thermal-hydraulic performance of high heat flux components in fusion reactors. Dr. Zhao’s area of expertise is in spacecraft thermal testing and analyses. His email address is bailey.zhao@aero.org.
Dr. Derek J. McVay is a member of the technical staff in the Thermal Control Department at The Aerospace Corporation. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Virginia and earned his Ph. D. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Irvine where he conducted research on renewable power integration with high temperature fuel cells and electrolyzers. Dr. McVay’s area of expertise is in conducting thermal analyses of spacecraft. His email address is derek.j.mcvay@aero.org.