EURECA Post-Flight Inspection: Observations on External Surfaces and Cooling Loop

In parallel to the detailed quantitative analyses performed by ERNO and ESTEC Material Division (subject of another paper), ESTEC carried out a thermal visual inspection of EURECA thermal control hardware aiming at understanding what kind of impact the LEO environment can have on materials and design configurations.

The first part of the paper deals with the findings of the inspection. A brief description of the EURECA TCS design is given first, followed by the observations on the after-flight configuration. Some discrepancies between the as-designed and as-built configurations as well as the impact of the orbital environment on the hardware characteristics are the most significant outcome of the inspection.

The cooling loop and its components were not directly inspected at ESTEC. The relevant activities are still on going at ERNO (EURECA prime contractor) and NASA. This paper includes all information available at the date of issue. Further results will be presented at the conference.