Ground Tests of Capillary Pumped Loop (CAPL 3) Flight Experiment
981812
07/13/1998
- Event
- Content
- The success of CAPL 2 flight experiment has stirred many interests in using capillary pumped loop (CPL) devices for spacecraft thermal control. With only one evaporator in the loop, CAPL 2 was considered a point design for the Earth Observing System (EOS-AM). To realize the full benefits of CPLs, a reliable system with multiple evaporators must be developed and successfully demonstrated in space. The Capillary Pumped Loop (CAPL 3) Flight Experiment was designed to flight demonstrate a multiple evaporator CPL in a space environment. New hardware and concepts were developed for CAPL 3 to enable reliable start-up, constant conductance operation, and heat load sharing. A rigorous ground test program was developed and extensive characterization tests were conducted. All performance requirements were met, and the loop demonstrated very reliable operation.
- Pages
- 13
- Citation
- Ku, J., Ottenstein, L., Cheung, K., Hoang, T. et al., "Ground Tests of Capillary Pumped Loop (CAPL 3) Flight Experiment," SAE Technical Paper 981812, 1998, https://doi.org/10.4271/981812.