Covers advancements in spacecraft and tactical and strategic missile systems, including subsystem design and application, mission design and analysis, materials and structures, developments in space sciences, space processing and manufacturing, space operations, and applications of space technologies to other fields.

ANITA (Analysing Interferometer for Ambient Air) is a flight experiment precursor for a permanent continuous air quality monitoring system on the ISS (International Space Station).For the safety of the crew, ANITA can detect and quantify quasi-online and simultaneously 33 gas compounds in the air with ppm or sub-ppm detection limits. The autonomous measurement system is based on FTIR (Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy). The system represents a versatile air quality monitor, allowing for the first time the detection and monitoring of trace gas dynamics, with high time resolution, in a spacecraft atmosphere.ANITA operated on the ISS from September 2007 to August 2008. This paper summarises the results of ANITA's air analyses and compares results to other measurements acquired on ISS during the operational period. The main basis of comparison is NASA's set of grab samples taken onboard the ISS and analysed on ground applying various GC-based (Gas Chromatography) and GC/MS (Mass Spectrometry) systems. Comparison with other real-time instruments aboard ISS included the Volatile Organic Analyzer (VOA), the Compound Specific Analyzer - Combustion Products (CSA-CP), the Carbon Dioxide Monitor (CDM), and the Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA).

ANITA (Analysing Interferometer for Ambient Air) is a flight experiment precursor for a permanent continuous air quality monitoring system on the ISS (International Space Station). For the safety of the crew, ANITA can detect and quantify quasi-online and simultaneously 33 gas compounds in the air with ppm or sub-ppm detection limits. The autonomous measurement system is based on FTIR (Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy). The system represents a versatile air quality monitor, allowing for the first time the detection and monitoring of trace gas dynamics in a spacecraft atmosphere. ANITA operated on the ISS from September 2007 to August 2008. This paper summarizes the results of ANITA s air analyses with emphasis on comparisons to other measurements. The main basis of comparison is NASA s set of grab samples taken onboard the ISS and analysed on ground applying various GC-based (Gas Chromatography) systems.

After the launch to the ISS (International Space Station) with The Space Shuttle flight STS 118 13A.1 on August 9th 2007 and the accommodation in the US lab Destiny, the air quality monitor ANITA (Analysing Interferometer for Ambient Air) has been successfully put into operation. ANITA is a technology demonstrator flight experiment being able to continuously monitor with high time resolution the air conditions within the crewed cabins of the ISS. The system has its origin in a long term ESA technology development programme. The ANITA mission itself is an ESA-NASA cooperative project. ESA is responsible for the provision of the HW, the data acquisition and data evaluation. NASA's responsibilities are launch, accommodation in the US Lab Destiny, operation and data download.The ANITA air analyser is currently calibrated to detect and quantify online and with high time resolution 33 gases simultaneously with down to sub-ppm detection limits. In addition the system has automatic warning capabilities covering possible malfunctions, surprising gases, and gas concentrations above preset limits. However, owing to the experimental character of this ANITA mission, no measurement results are on-line visible to the crew.ANITA's standard, fully automatic mode of operation applies direct air sampling in front of the system. Whenever wanted, air samples for automatic analyses can be taken from any human-accessible position in the ISS or any connected spacecraft and fed to ANITA, applying gas bags and a hand pump.ANITA is an on-orbit test experiment and a precursor for a permanent continuous trace gas monitoring system on the ISS - ANITA II. It further represents a precursor system for future air monitoring in crewed vehicles being developed for the Human Space Exploration programme.This paper is part 2 in a series of two papers. The first paper describes the HW and the ANITA mission itself. This paper is dedicated to the data analysis, including the handling of special challenges and some measurement results.On the ISS, ANITA has measured several gases that, before now, have never properly been measured before, including one unexpected gas. And many gases have for the first time been measured with high time resolution. The observed gas dynamics clearly show effects from spacecraft visits to the ISS, crew activities, the number of crew present, and the functioning of the air revitalisation systems. ANITA gives detailed time resolved information on very different gases such as carbon dioxide and monoxide, methane, ammonia, perfluoro propane, sulphur hexafluoride, siloxanes, and alcohols.It was also demonstrated how ANITA was used to detect and quantify an unexpected gas in the ISS air, and how the system calibration could be updated from ground.The work described has been performed under contract of the European Space Agency.

Over the past decade, Astrium has been involved in the development of capillary pumped fluid loops. In the frame of the French technological demonstrator spacecraft called STENTOR, Astrium has gained experience on capillary fluid loop design and manufacturing. After the STENTOR cylindrical evaporator type was successfully tested and qualified, Astrium has developed miniaturised fluid loops for thermal dissipation of electronic devices. For such applications, the use of a flat shape evaporator is very promising, limiting the volume and the mass of the thermal hardware. Both technologies have been submitted. to a comprehensive-one-g test program and will be flight-tested in the near future.Through a comparative of the reached performances, some main advantages and drawbacks of each design are listed and a definition of what should be the next generation of Astrium. fluid loops is given. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

As it is impossible to directly use commercial liquid flow meters in space, a study was done for the European Space Agency to adapt commercial flow meter assemblies for spacecraft applications. The activities led to the selection of two commercial units, which were re-designed and adapted for use in spacecraft single-phase (water) and two-phase (ammonia) thermal control loops. These flow meter assemblies were tested according to an agreed test programme, that included performance and calibration tests in a test bench (developed during the study), vibration and EMC/EMI testing. The results are discussed to assess to what extent the study objectives were met. Recommendations for future work are given.

In order to demonstrate two-phase heat transport system technology in orbit, the Dutch-Belgian Two-Phase eXperiment TPX was successfully flown as Get Away Special G557, aboard STS60, February 1994.Based on TPX conclusions and lessons learned, a reflight experiment TPX II is being developed in order to usefully fill the time gap between TPX and possible future full-scale Capillary Pumped Loop flights.The characteristics of TPX II, intended to fly early 1998, are discussed in detail: configuration and component changes, updates of objectives/scenario, current status, results of pre-launch (components) testing and outlook.

A novel microscopic network model of heat and mass transfer in the wick structure of a capillary pumped evaporator has been developed, which is able to take account of the natural random distribution of pores in realistic wick materials, and does not require the assumption of uniform spherical particles. The model iteratively solves the linked pressure and temperature equations within a two-dimensional network of particles and pores to follow the evolution of the liquid/vapour interface as the heat load increases. The effect of homogeneous (idealised) and heterogeneous (realistic) pore size distributions on the behaviour of the evaporator is evaluated and demonstrated graphically. A breadboard ammonia capillary pumped loop with a flat evaporator designed to enable simple changes of evaporator wick material and internal geometry was developed and tested with heat fluxes up to 12 W/cm(2) for a variety of wick materials and internal geometries. A new internal geometry is proposed to optimise the heat transfer coefficient while minimising internal pressure drops. The geometry is particularly effective for low conductivity wicks. The performance is evaluated using the microscopic model, and has been demonstrated in the breadboard CPL to increase maximum heat flux capability and heat transfer coefficient significantly.

An ESA technology program led to the development of an aluminum extruded heat pipe family based on a multi reentrant grooves design and using ammonia as working fluid. This family, called High Capacity Grooved Heat Pipe (HGP), was then submitted to a space qualification program according to ESA standards (ESA PSS-49; see ref. [1]), which aimed to fulfill an as large as possible range of potential applications. Therefore, four heat pipe diameters (11 mm, 15 mm, 20 mm and 25 mm), two heat pipe outer shapes (circular, saddles integrated) and two heat pipe configurations (straight, bent) have been selected for going into this space qualification. The space qualification program, started in 1994, ended up early 1997.The present paper presents the HGP heat pipe family and the space qualification philosophy. Afterwards, the qualification test results obtained though the different qualification tests (environment, thermal, performances...) are described and analyzed.

This paper describes all analytical and experimental activities (of NLR, prime contractor, and the subcontractors Bradford Engineering and Daimler Benz Aerospace-Space Infrastructure) to develop a high efficiency low pressure drop condenser and to bring it up to pre-qualification level: - The inventory, dedicated to a literature review of potential concepts and means to improve condenser efficiency and to lower pressure drop, followed by a trade-off, supported by the necessary thermo-hydraulic analysis, yielding the definition of the design. - The manufacture of the condenser defined and the execution of an extensive test programme, performed under conditions reflecting, as close as possible, realistic in-orbit conditions. Thermo-hydraulic modelling was done to predict test results prior to the execution of the tests. The resulting condenser combines the high efficiency of a direct condensation annular configuration and the low pressure drop of a channelled configiuration, as it is shown in detail by results of performance and acceptance tests.