z1 b 

. , FLUID HANDLING-A need &ists to develop the tech- ADVANCED INSTRUMENTATIONLA need dists for 

etermine the quantity (orImass) of liquid 

-gravity conditions, to measure th 

etermining the onset of two-pha 

“n 

e technologies associated with tow-grafity 

ic liquid-storage and fluid transfer have been 

ed as enabling for future NASA and Departmen -- --I----- -- wr-..-. v. ._cI..._u bw u ewvrw6b buain. 

The ther mic and fluid dynamic processes associated 

with the in-space dumpitig of cryogenic tankage are not well 

* understood. 

of Uetense space missions. 

i ! 

-SAT spacecraft will be 

inserted ihto a Sow earth orbit by an expendable launch vehicle 

from one of. the launch complexes located at the Cape 

Canaveral Air Force Siation in Florida. 

ryogenic hydrogen, the logical p 

arth operation and space exploration, will serve as 

test fluid on board the COLD-SAT spacecraft. The duration 

of the mission is expected to be between 6 and I2 months, 

depending on the test scenario. 

a , COLOR PHOTOGRAPH z 

ut R. 

of COLD-SAT t 

in the launch pad in 

clean room - 
' attendees from government, industry, and academia recon- ' 

firmed that the development of cryogenic fluid management ' 

technobgies would require in-space experimentation. Ground- 

. based test facilities, including drop towers and aircraft, cannot 

ovide a complete engineering data base because of con 

aim on experiment size, test fluid, and lowgravity dura 

n. From this workshop, the COLD-SAT concept evo~ved 

Why liquid hydrogen testing? On the basis of several 

udies, liquid hydrogen has been selected as the prominent 

ogenic propellant for most future NASA and Department 

Defense space missions. COLDTSAT experiments with 

liquid hydrogen will provide the data base to support th 

design of systems for these future spacemissions. Handlin 

of liquid hydrogen in space. presents challenging fluid 

management problems because of its low temperature, low 

density, and small surface tension forces. COLD-SAT will 

afford an opportunity to demonstrate the ability to store, 

to supply, and to transfer in space this difficult cryogenic 

technology with liquid hydrogen permits application of the 

Why an expendable launch vehicle? The United States 

entry to space is via either the space transportation system 

(Space Shuttle) or an expendable launch vehicle. Liquid 

gen experimentation on board the Space Shuttle would 

eht a potentially catastrophic hazard to the crew and 

ttk (2) require the installation of a very costlyI 

n vent system, and (3) provide less'technology return 

use the Shuttle's maxim 

ts in a limited test matr 

Experimentation on bo 

hazardous cryogenic fluid i 

ort flight time of the 

quire multiple missions to develop the necessary 

technologies and (2) the technologies could not be developed 

to the same level of confidence. The desired high reliability 

for the single expendable launch vehicle mission was 

considered in the cost estimates for COLD-SAT. 

s liquid successfully. Further, development of fluid management ** I 

i 

B 

", 

% 

' ORIGINAL PAGE c 

Ir; COLOR PHOTOGRAPH PI 

i 1- i 

* F 5 % 

E 1. 


wiii w proviaea 

Sun 

I 

sensor 

b 

Gray-coded 

pattern 

nplifler T7$ 

Bulier 

dorape 

PROPULSION SUBSYSTEM 

controlling spacecraft attitude and will provide the required 

vxperimental accelerations. A conventional hydrazine 

propulsion system operated in a modified “blow-down” mode 

is proposed on COLD-SAT. The configuration will be 

The propulsion subsystem will provide torc 

/ I ’, I Reticle 

Dstr 

output - 

--I 

I 

n 

ruzine I attitude control I thrusters 

*edundant. Any failure resulting in leakage in the thruster 

module or feed lines to the thruster module will be isolated 

by the appropriate feed module isolation valve, thereby 

\++ permitting full utilization of the available propellant in the 

redundant half.system. 

8 i 


SUBSYSTEM 

The experiment subsystem wil 

two receiver tanks, liquid hydrog 

pressurant supply, and fillldrainlvent piping a 

The supply tank, the largest volume, will consist of an 

tanks. The receiver tanks will be thin-wa 

containing instrumentation to study the transfer of liquid 2 

' aluminum pressure vessel containing experimental hardware 

and instrumentation to supply liquid hydrogen to the rest 

of the experiment. The supply tank will contain a totalcommunication liquid acquisition device which will make use 

of surface tension forces to provide a kans of expelling gasfree liquid in a low-gravity space environment. The tank will 

use a thermodynamic vent system as a means of controlling 

the tank pressure increase due to heat input and will 

incorporate an internal mixer. Transfer lines with valves and 

flowmeters will connect the sk~pply tank to the two receiver 

tanks. Instrumentation to evaluate system performance and 

to provide for two-phase flow detection and mass flow rate 

Q 

1, 

i 

c R 

hydrogen, serving as scaled-down versions of future spac&raft 

requiring refueling operation 

The fillldrainlvent segm 

fttings, check valves, insulation, heaters, and lines to interface 

with the ground support equipment. The tank pressurization 

segment will consist of gaseous pressurant bottles, va 

filters, fittings, regulators, orifices, and lines to su 

pressurant to the tanks. The transfer line segment will consist 

of all devices necessary to study phenomena related to the 

transfer process. The data acquisition and control segme 

will consist of all electronics necessary to control experime 

processes and to acquire the data relevant to the experimen 

i 

ORIGINAL PAGE 

COLOR PHOTOGRAPH 
' 'hex subsystems will be designed, fabricated, assembled, 

and tested by a U.S. aerospace corporation under the 

direction of the Cryogenic Fluids Technology Office at the 

NASA Lewis Research Center. Integration of the COLD-SAT 

spacecraft with the expendable launch vehicle and final 

verification of the operation of the spacecraft subsystems will 

be done at the launch site. 

The spacecraft will be transported to the launch pad 

complete with its solar panels and batteries installed, the 

hydrazine propulsion fuel loaded, the pyrotechnic devices 

inserted (butt unarmed), and the antenna stored in its 

undeployed position. Final connections between the spacecraft 

structural support system and the launch vehicle will be made 

at the launch pad. Checks of the telemetry, tracking, and 

command subsystem will be made to verify its operational 

status. Instrumentation in the experiment subsystem will be 

used to monitor and record the loading of the pressurant 

and inerting gases. 

When the launch day arrives, the final checkout of each 

subsystem will be made, and the protective nose fairing will 

be installed to encapsulate the spacecraft. Then the launch 

pad will be cleared of all personnel, and the liquid hydrogen 

will be loaded into the supply tank. 

During the last two hours prior to liftoff, a final 

verification of the integrity of COLD-SAT'S subsystems will 

be made from the remote launch control room. With the 

launch vehicle and spacecraft poised on the launch pad and 

approvals granted from each of the launch facility operations 

personnel, the launch director will initiate the liftoff sequence. 

Telemetry data on the spacecraft subsystems will be recorded 

as the vehicle ascends. The nose fairing will separate from 

the spacecraft prior to depletion of the launch vehicle's 

propellant. In an approximately 500-nautical-mile orbit, the 

COLD-SAT odyssey will begin. 

For further information, contactE.P. Symons, Project Manager 

J.C. Aydelott, Principal Investigator 

NASA Lewis Research Center 

2 IO00 Brookpark Road 

Cleveland, Ohio 44 I35 

(2 16) 433-2853 

(2 16) 433-2472 

12 
NASA National Aeronautics and Report Documentation Page 

1. Report No. 

NASA TM- 102308 

2. Government Accession No. 

4. Title and Subtitle 

COLD-SAT 

Cryogenic On-Orbit Liquid DepotStorage, Acquisition, and Transfer 

7. Key Words (Suggested by Author@)) 

COLD-SAT; Cryogenic; Low-gravity fluid management; 

Liquid storage; Fluid transfer 

7. Author@) 

18. Distribution Statement 

Unclassified -Unlimited 

Subject Category 12 

9. Performing Organization Name and Address 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

Lewis Research Center 

Cleveland, Ohio 44135-3191 

9. Security Classif. (of this report) 

Unclassified 

2. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

Washington, D.C. 20546-0001 

20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No of pages 22. Price' 

Unclassified 17 A03 

5. Supplementary Notes c 

3. Recipient's Catalog No. 

5. Report Date 

July 1989 

6. Performing Organization Code 

8. Performing Organization Report No. 

E-4997 

0. Work Unit No. 

506-48-2 1 

1. Contract or Grant No. 

3. Type of Report and Period Covered 

Technical Memorandum 

4. Sponsoring Agency Code 

6. Abstract 

As we move into the next century, NASA is entering an era of expanded space activity. Space-based transportation 

systems will carry cargo and humans from low-earth orbit to geosynchronous orbit, to lunar bases, and to the 

martian surface. Support of these future missions will require new, long-lived, on-orbit systems using subcritical 

cryogens for propellants and life-support systems. Such on-orbit systems present low-gravity fluid management 

challenges of long-term storage and efficient fluid transfer and supply techniques. Development of these cryogenic 

systems requires on-orbit experimentation to demonstrate the capability of performing these fluid management 

tasks and to obtain the engineering data base required to correlate analytical tools used for system design.