Thermal Ground Testing of Loop Heat Pipes for PACE OCI

Abstract

A pair of propylene Loop Heat Pipes (LHP) designed for the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) was tested in two configurations: flat (minimize the influence of gravity) and flight (bent/final configuration). The testing was conducted in the thermal vacuum chamber at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center facility. The test results are presented along with the lessons learned.