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AFRL’s VADER (Variable emissivity device Aerogel insulation blanket, Dual zone thermal control, Experiment suite for Responsive space), one of two thermal management experiments to more efficiently control and manage heat transfer. VADER and MHTEX (Massive Heat Transfer Experiment) were included in this year’s Endeavor shuttle flight. (AFRL Image)
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AFRL Experiments Fly on One of Last Shuttle Flights
Posted 1/9/2012 Updated 1/11/2012
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by Eva Blaylock, AFRL/RVOT
Space Vehicles
1/9/2012 - KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, New Mexico -- NASA launched two Air Force Research Laboratory experiments on the Space Shuttle Endeavour on May 16, 2011, as part of a four-experiment package sponsored by the Space Experiments and Review Board and the Space Test Program.
MHTEX (Massive Heat Transfer Experiment) and VADER (Variable emissivity device Aerogel insulation blanket, Dual zone thermal control, Experiment suite for Responsive space) are two thermal management experiments to more efficiently control and manage heat transfer.
VADER will test a robust, reconfigurable thermal control system that is focused primarily at small responsive space missions. It will also test a new form of Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI) protection using Aerogel material as the thermal isolator.
It was feared that the variable emissivity material is humidity sensitive and would have suffered some degradation due to shuttle launch delays, but the experiment was able to continue as planned.
This one-year experiment will also demonstrate spacecraft thermal control, as when the power has been turned off, each coating retains the heat. A control system will monitor energy applied to the coatings, as well as the temperature of the payload. Another part of the VADER trial, the Aerogel Insulation Blanket, developed by Aspen Aerogels, Northborough, Massachusetts, will cover the back of the experiment, directly behind the coatings. Similar to the MHTEX, data will be downloaded and processed at Kirtland Air Force Base.
Ultimately, the information will be used to develop thermal control systems for future small satellites.
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