ACT's CCHPs Reach 50 Million Hours of Space Flight Operation

Lancaster, PA: Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) announced that their Aluminum-Ammonia Constant Conductance Heat Pipe (CCHP) products have reached 50 Million Hours of Space Flight Operation. Numerous satellites carrying ACT hardware have launched from locations across the globe since 2009, bringing ACT’s total flight heritage for Aluminum-Ammonia CCHPs to:

Over 50 Million Hours of Operation
1,000+ Heat Pipes in Orbit
Zero Failures

Satellite integrators value quality and reliability in products and suppliers. 50 million hours of on-orbit heritage without failure is a reminder that ACT is a dependable manufacturer with a robust, repeatable fabrication process. The extensive investment in the company’s infrastructure and quality control over the years has resulted in the achievement of strong CCHP process qualification, as well as the qualification of numerous geometric designs. In an industry where risk and schedule are critically important, having a trustworthy thermal management partner that does not require lengthy qualification programs provides significant program value.

CCHP’s must pass extensive testing to be spaceflight ready. This requires robust processes and a dedicated team of employees that each play an important role in the design, manufacturing, and testing of CCHPs. Leveraging an agile business model, ACT continues to adapt and expand to accommodate the rapid growth in the Space industry, both nationally and internationally, in order to meet the increased need for advanced cooling solutions.

“Satellites are beginning to increasingly carry out processing onboard that was accomplished terrestrially in years past. The added computing power that is now being hosted on satellites creates additional waste heat, which needs to be dissipated. Aerospace engineers are continuing to push the capabilities of new satellite design, and our job is to continue innovating alongside them to manage the thermal loads and ultimately to advance the technology.” explained Jared Montgomery, ACT’s Lead Engineer and Program Manager for CCHP Production.

As the space industry continues to evolve, the ACT team is quickly able to increase its ability to provide the quality spaceflight hardware that customers have come to expect from the company. ACT has indicated that its ability to quickly scale is the result of the high number of excellent local engineering and technical schools combined with a robust internal training program, extensive investments in capital equipment, and the ability to swiftly add to the manufacturing footprint.

“Our CCHP production line continues to increase in capacity; we’ve become much more efficient through the continuous improvement investments made over the last three years. This allows us to meet tight schedules and deliver the highest quality, flight-worthy parts to both new customers and long-term partners” continued Jared Montgomery, ACT’s Lead Engineer and Program Manager for CCHP Production.

ACT’s first CCHP shipment in 2020 to Korea

Jared stated that one of the most rewarding parts of the CCHP product line is “The opportunity to see a project through to launch. We (ACT) get to take customers’ ideas and partner with them to craft hardware that is specific to their projects and goals. Knowing that hardware will then launch into space and usually into orbit is rewarding to our entire team.”

ACT not only has a proven manufacturing team but also dedicated teams responsible for both new product development & qualification programs and advanced Research and Development (R&D) projects for the space industry. The R&D team has partnered with NASA on numerous SBIR programs to advance future thermal technology for space. A few recent examples include:

NASA Phase IIE/III SBIR, NASA VIPER Rover Thermal Management
NASA Phase II SBIR, Autonomous Melting Probe for Icy Planets Exploration
NASA Phase I SBIR, “Dark” Photovoltaic Cells for Space Power Generation
NASA Phase I SBIR, Thermal Management System for Lunar Ice Miners

“At ACT, we believe in the possibilities and security that can be provided to all of us through advanced space systems; we would like to thank our satellite industry partners for their support and continued trust in our manufacturing, quality, and engineering capabilities,” said Bryan Muzyka, ACT’s Manager, Sales & Marketing. “We value these partnerships, and look forward to the innovations yet to come.”

Learn more about ACT’s custom thermal solutions for Spacecraft here.