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This paper presents the design, test, and flight performance of the Astro Integrated Radiator System, or IRS, a passive thermal control system which made its second Space Shuttle flight during March, 1995. The system was designed to provide thermal control for a cluster of ultraviolet telescopes which were mounted to an Instrument Pointing System (IPS) developed by the European Space Agency. Having no fluid piped to the payload over the gimbals of the IPS to provide heat transport, the thermal control of the telescopes and their supporting electronics had to be thermally autonomous, and the IRS was conceived to perform this task.

This paper describes the design and performance characteristics of the thermal control system for the Spacelab Astro-1 payload. Dubbed the Integrated Radiator System, or IRS, the assembly is a thermal radiation system designed to maintain the temperature of payload electronics packages within a specified range, regardless of payload or orbiter orientation in space. The radiator is passive in its ability to reject heat, but active when the lower temperature limit is reached. At that point, resistance heaters are energized to maintain the radiator surface temperature within acceptable range. The performance of the radiator system during its flight aboard the Space Shuttle is reported in this paper. An earlier paper presented the thermal analysis and test data predicting the performance of the radiator system before the flight. In this paper, data collected during the flight is reported and compared to the performance predicted by analyses and tests.

The technology available for the production of high purity water in a microgravity environment is applied to a water reclamation and purification system for the Laboratory Module of Space Station Freedom. The system is required to remove a wide range of contaminants from water, and therefore a staged system, which uses a number of purification techniques in series, is necessary. The Ultrapure Water System (UPWS) design has been in development for over four years. Initial system concepts relied heavily on distillation, followed by ion exchange and adsorption. Recent efforts have focused on addressing the limitations of a distillation-based system. Substituting a combination of chemical oxidation and continuous deionization for the distillation step appears to be viable. A development test program has been formulated which would prove system feasibility, refine the design concept, and provide data for system simulation.

This paper describes the design and performance of the Astro Integrated Radiator System (IRS). The system was recently ground tested and proven successful in rejecting approximately 400 watts of heat. The radiator was constructed from an aluminum panel configured to form two orthogonal planes. Heat pipes were adhesively bonded and riveted to the radiator to isothermalize the surface. The IRS was subjected to a full thermal vacuum test to validate the thermal math model and to qualify the radiator for space flight. The thermal performance met prescribed temperature limits with margins at both extremes, and no mechanical failures occurred.

The ejector-compression refrigeration system, a heat powered system which can be operated as a heat pump, is described. The operation of the system is discussed in general and the ejector itself is described in more detail. The central thrust of the paper is the application of the system to comfort air conditioning of automobiles. The advantages, limitations, and recommendations for future research and development are given. Several analyses of the theoretical cycle are made and equations describing the operation of the ejector are derived. A brief bibliography is listed.