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Space on Earth
Author(s) -
Gaines J. R.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
vakuum in forschung und praxis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.213
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 1522-2454
pISSN - 0947-076X
DOI - 10.1002/vipr.201800686
Subject(s) - swap (finance) , aerospace engineering , low earth orbit , rocket (weapon) , trips architecture , astrobiology , space environment , space (punctuation) , engineering , the renaissance , satellite , aeronautics , environmental science , computer science , physics , business , transport engineering , operating system , art , finance , geophysics , art history
Summary We are enjoying a renaissance in space travel with the emergence of several commercial rocket companies. These companies, such as SpaceX, Blue Origin and others have tremendous backlogs of trips to low earth orbit to deploy a wide range of satellites. Any device going to space needs to be tested on earth under conditions which simulate the hazardous environment it must endure. Accordingly, a fleet of thermal vacuum systems (TVAC) is being deployed globally to provide the proper test conditions. Contamination in these systems, from the components used to make devices like cubesats and planetary rovers, as well as poor vacuum cleanliness practices, emit enormous gas loads which may swap the vacuum system as well as create thin film deposits on surfaces within the test chamber. Strategies to mitigate these conditions are discussed.