Lancaster, Pennsylvania– January 14, 2015. Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) (www.1-ACT.com) announced today four fluid compensation accumulators installed in NASA’s Cloud Aerosol Transport Systems (CATS) instrument were successfully delivered to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard SpaceX’s CRS 5 dragon capsule which docked with the space station on January 13th 2015.
The fully stainless steel accumulators provide volumetric compensation for fluid property changes across the broad temperature range experienced in spacecraft applications, from -40°C to 55°C. This new product was designed, manufactured, and qualified by ACT to operate for up to 3 years in this challenging environment. ACT introduced the accumulators in response to multiple requests for a rapid design and development supplier for custom, flight-qualified, fluid compensation systems.
ACT’s Accumulator has been deployed on the ISS. Individual Parts are seen on the left and the welded assembly is seen on the right
“These accumulators are a logical expansion beyond heat pipes for our aerospace product offerings. We’re utilizing the same high-quality flight hardware practices, customer responsiveness, product development innovation, and manufacturing talent sets for a different product in a similar market” says Mike DeChristopher, ACT Lead Engineer, Defense, and Aerospace Products Group.
ACT’s Aerospace Products Group consists of personnel with diverse engineering and technical skills, making the group capable of solving some of the most demanding thermal design, analysis, and fabrication challenges in the spacecraft industry. The group’s customer-focused approach is driving rapid growth and allowing ACT to quickly become a trusted supplier of flight-quality products, advanced research and development, and thermal management consulting services for the spacecraft industry. The group has accumulated a significant on-orbit flight heritage with its heat pipe products.
The group’s satellite thermal control products include:
- CCHP, VCHP, LHP
- Build-to-print, or custom designs
- Embedded and External Mount
- In-House and Custom Extrusions
- 2D and 3D Configurations
- Integration with Radiators
- Aerospace Qualified Soldered Assemblies
- Accumulators