• Aerospace Engineering and Technology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.64-73
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• 2007

A Large thermal vacuum chamber (LTVC) for space environment simulation on large satellites was successfully developed and constructed by KARI (Korea Aerospace Research Institute) in Korea with a local company. This chamber has an effective diameter of 8 meters and depth of 10 meters, and is composed of vacuum system, thermal control system, and anti-vibration system. Temperature below $-190^{\circ}C$ is maintained over the thermal shroud wrapping a satellite under $3.7{\times}10^{-5}Pa$ ($5{\times}10^{-7}torr$) vacuum level, and optical test can be done in this chamber by seismic mass with $10^{-5}g_{rms}$ or lower vibration level. In addition, the shroud temperature can be increased up to $123^{\circ}C$ using halogen lamps. Chamber control program based on PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) could control this large thermal vacuum chamber automatically.

• Aerospace Engineering and Technology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.103-108
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• 2004

The space environment is characterized such a severe condition as high vacuum and very low temperature. Since a satellite will be exposed such a space environment as soon as it goes into the its orbit, thermal vacuum test should be carried out to verify the performance of the satellite on the ground under the space environmental conditions. KARI has a thermal vacuum chamber with useful dimensions of ∮3.6m×L3m, in which KOMPSAT-1 and KOMPSAT-2 satellites were tested. But very large thermal vacuum chamber with useful dimensions of ∮8m×L10m has been needed to meet the future demand of large satellites. Generally, the thermal vacuum chamber can be divided into a vacuum system and a thermal system. Especially, a cryogenic system in the thermal system simulates very low temperature of -196℃ under the high vacuum condition. In this paper, we propose the new cryogenic system can be applied to the future large thermal vacuum chamber.

• Current Industrial and Technological Trends in Aerospace
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.55-61
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• 2010

Thermal vacuum test should be carried out to verify the performance of the S/C on the ground under the simulated space environment. KARI already completed the construction of a Large Thermal Vacuum Chamber(LTVC) with 8 m of diameter and 10 m of length dimension. LTVC is for the purpose of performing the orbital environment test for large Space Craft(S/C). Inside LTVC, S/C is much smaller than LTVC. For the function test of S/C during the thermal vacuum test, the S/C has to be connected to Electrical Ground Support Equipment(EGSE) which includes several cable and RF wave guide inside LTVC. Also, MLI should be installed on S/C before the test. But it is very difficult to access the S/C inside big LTVC. To solve the accessibility to the S/C inside LTVC, KARI designed an access fixture. This fixture provides easy access to the any S/C thus can help safe installation and saving time for the related work inside LTVC. This paper describes whole process for the design of the access fixture.

• Aerospace Engineering and Technology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.57-65
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• 2005

Due to the future of a large size satellite like Geo-stationary orbit satellite, KARI has progressed the construction of Large Thermal Vacuum Chamber(LTVC) with Φ8mXL10m, which simulates the orbit environment at space. The space environment can be characterized as very harsh conditions. Once the spacecraft is launched and enters its orbit, the satellite is exposed to this space environment. The continuous exposure to such space environment could cause malfunction of major parts of the spacecraft, which could lead to the failure of the entire mission. Due to the fact that space environment is completely different from that of the ground, the satellite that functioned normally on the ground could show some unexpected malfunction in space environment. For this reason, the performance of the spacecraft must be confirmed under the simulated conditions of the space environment. This document includes LTVC control logic, Interlock by which the LTVC can be controlled more safely and efficiently.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.403-416
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• 2009

COMS (Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite) is a geostationary satellite and developed by KARl for communication, ocean and meteorological observations. It will be tested under vacuum and very low temperature conditions in order to verify thermal design of COMS. The test will be performed by using KARI large thermal vacuum chamber, which was developed by KARI, and the COMS will be the first flight satellite tested in this chamber. The purposes of thermal balance test are to correlate analytical model used for design evaluation and predicting temperatures, and to verify and adjust thermal control concept. KARI has plan to use heating plates to simulate space hot condition especially for radiator panels of satellite such as north and south panels. They will be controlled from 90 K to 273 K by circulating GN2 and LN2 alternatively according to the test phases, while the main shroud of the vacuum chamber will be under constant temperature, 90 K, during all thermal balance test. This paper presents thermal modelling including test chamber, heating plates and the satellite without solar array wing and Ka-band reflectors and discusses temperature prediction during thermal balance test.

• Proceedings of the Optical Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.07a
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• pp.387-388
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• 2006

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.213-218
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• 2010

A cooling system utilizing liquid helium to chill the cryopanel (800 mm $\times$ 700 mm dimensions) down to 4.2 K was designed, implemented, and tested to verify the role of the cryopanel as a heat sink for the payload of a spacecraft inside the large thermal vacuum chamber (effective dimensions : 8 m ($\Phi$) $\times$ 10 m (L)) of KARI (Korea Aerospace Research Institute). Two LHe (Liquid Helium) Dewars, one for the main supply and the other for refilling, were used to supply liquid helium or cold helium gas into this cryopanel, and flow control for the target temperature of the cryopanel within requirements was done through fine adjustment of the pressure inside the LHe Dewars. The return helium gas from the cryopanel was reused as a thermal barrier to minimize the heat influx on the core liquid helium supply pipe. The test verified a cooling time of around three hours from the ambient temperature to 40 K (combined standard uncertainty of 194 mK), the capacity for maintaining the cryopanel at intermediate temperatures, and a 1 K uniformity over the entire cryopanel surface at around 40 K with 20 W cooling power.