Ultra lightweight unfurlable radiator for lunar base heat rejection
- Thermacore, Inc., 780 Eden Road, Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17601 (United States)
A proof-of-concept (POC) ultra lightweight lunar radiator was fabricated and tested. The POC radiator has a specific weight of 5 kg/kW one quarter the specific weight of current ambient temperature space radiators. The significant weight reduction was due to the radiator's unique design. It is a multi-cellular heat pipe radiator utilizing the lunar gravity for condensate return. The innovation of this radiator is the laminated film material used as the heat pipe envelope. By utilizing a flexible, durable, leak tight laminate structure instead of the typical ridge heat pipe envelope, significant weight reductions were achieved. In addition, the resulting radiator is extremely flexible, allowing it to be rolled or folded and compactly stored during transit to the lunar surface. Testing demonstrated that a laminated film heat pipe radiator offers improved performance and significant weight savings over conventional space radiators.
- OSTI ID:
- 5574463
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-930103-; CODEN: APCPCS
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings (American Institute of Physics); (United States), Vol. 271:1; Conference: 10. symposium on space nuclear power and propulsion, Albuquerque, NM (United States), 10-14 Jan 1993; ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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