2015-10-272015-10-272015-07-12ICES-2015-167http://hdl.handle.net/2346/64434Bellevue, WashingtonGregory Quinn, Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems International, Inc., USAJesse Stieber, Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems International, Inc., USARubik Sheth, NASA Johnson Space Center, USAThomas Ahlstrom, NASA Johnson Space Center, USAThe 45th International Conference on Environmental Systems was held in Bellevue, Washington, USA on 12 July 2015 through 16 July 2015.A flight experiment is being constructed to utilize the persistent microgravity environment of the International Space Station (ISS) to prove out operation of a microgravity compatible phase change material (PCM) heat sink. A PCM heat sink can help to reduce the overall mass and volume of future exploration spacecraft Thermal Control Systems. The program is characterizing a new PCM heat sink that incorporates a novel phase management approach to prevent high pressures and structural deformation that often occur with PCM heat sinks undergoing cyclic operation in microgravity. The PCM unit was made using brazed aluminum construction and will be filled with paraffin wax as the fusible material. It is designed to be installed into a propylene glycol and water cooling loop, with scaling consistent with the conceptual designs for the Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle. This paper reports on the construction of the PCM heat sink. The prototype will be tested later on the ground and on orbit via a self‐contained experiment package developed by NASA Johnson Space Center to operate in an ISS Expedite the Processing of Experiments to the Space Station rack.application/pdfengPresentation