• Qualification and verification testing of equipment and components intended for space environments
• Thermal cycling under high vacuum
• Simulation of combined temperature and vacuum conditions
• Development and validation testing of spacecraft components and subsystems
• Radiative thermal testing with optional cryogenic shrouds and infrared heaters
• Vacuum diagnostics and contamination monitoring with optional RGA and QCM

MODEL RANGE

The C Series includes the C64, C125, C250, C500, C1000, and C2000. Their nominal usable volumes are 65, 125, 250, 500, 1,000, and 2,000 L. Corresponding internal usable dimensions, stated as diameter × length, range from Ø500 × 350 mm to Ø1500 × 1200 mm.

CHAMBER ARCHITECTURE

Each model uses a vacuum-tight cylindrical stainless-steel chamber with polished AISI 304 internal surfaces to minimize outgassing. A manually locked front door provides access to the work area. The standard aluminium thermal plate includes threaded mounting holes for securing the test article. Copper or stainless-steel plates are available on request.

ISO-K, CF, or KF connections can be configured for pumps, sensors, thermocouples, and process interfaces. The stated standard process port is one ISO-K 100 for the C64, C125, and C250 and one ISO-K 160 for the C500, C1000, and C2000. Alternative flanges and connections can be agreed for the application.

THERMAL CONTROL

Four thermal-control concepts are available:

• Direct LN₂ injection with surface-mounted heaters: -180 °C to +150 °C
• Closed-circuit GN₂ circulation conditioned through an LN₂ heat exchanger: -180 °C to +150 °C
• Mechanical refrigeration: -70 °C to +125 °C
• Flooded LN₂ heat exchanger in two-phase boiling mode: down to approximately -190 °C
• The specified heating and cooling rates are ≥1 K/min. Temperature uniformity is ±2 K and steady-state temperature stability is ±1 K. Pt100 sensors are used for temperature measurement. Optional zoned cryogenic shrouds and closed-loop infrared heaters can create radiative conditions and localized heat loads.

VACUUM SYSTEM

The modular vacuum system combines backing and high-vacuum stages with valves, pressure sensors, interlocks, operating-state monitoring, and emergency functions. Available backing stages include dry scroll, screw, or rotary-vane pumps, with an optional Roots booster. A turbomolecular high-vacuum stage can be configured.

Nominal turbomolecular pumping speeds range from 300 to 1,500 L/s. Nominal backing-pump speeds range from 16 to 100 m³/h. Additional cryogenic elements, traps, filters, gauges, and throttling components can be configured. The specified final pressure is ≤1 × 10⁻⁶ mbar.

CONTROL AND DATA

A freely programmable controller and 7-inch color touchscreen support manual and automatic operation. Graphical programs can contain up to 999 steps with adjustable temperature setpoints and ramp rates at 0.1 °C setting resolution.

Functions include sensor-calibration access, display of process values and equipment status, delayed start, and an archived event log. Data can be stored on USB and exported in CSV, TXT, or XLS format. PC control and system integration are supported through Ethernet, Modbus TCP, and OPC UA.

PROTECTION FUNCTIONS

Available safeguards include automatic emergency functions, hardware and software temperature limits, overtemperature and undertemperature protection, emergency sensors or thermostats, vacuum-system interlocks, and monitoring of refrigeration or cryogenic subsystem parameters.

Each T Series chamber is configured from a standard platform. Customer-specific choices include chamber size; thermal concept; aluminium, copper, or stainless-steel thermal plate; pumping architecture and pump manufacturer; ISO-K, CF, or KF process ports; sensor count; temperature-control zones; and integration interfaces. Optional upgrades include cryogenic shrouds, infrared heaters, a solar simulator, standard or ZnSe viewing windows, heated chamber walls, cryogenic traps, a Roots booster, oil-free pumping, RGA, helium leak-test preparation, QCM, optical connections, an interior camera, vibration isolation, remote monitoring, advanced data logging, and water cooling. The base scope and any additional cost are defined in the project-specific quotation.

Not applicable. The T Series is ground-based test equipment and is not intended for flight or in-orbit operation. It is designed to support qualification and verification testing of space equipment and components.

The C Series is built around a vacuum-tight cylindrical chamber with polished AISI 304 stainless-steel internal surfaces. Standard configurations use an aluminium thermal plate with threaded mounting holes; copper or stainless-steel plates are available on request.

The chamber housing, integrated pumping system, and pneumatic valves are mounted on a common metal frame. The selected low-temperature chiller or nitrogen-cooling subsystem forms part of the modular architecture.

Process ports, pumping hardware, pressure instrumentation, thermal-control equipment, protection functions, and control interfaces are configured for the application. Mechanical-refrigeration versions use air-cooled condensers and compressors as standard, with water cooling available on request. Final component selection, interfaces, documentation, and acceptance criteria are defined for each configured system.

The C Series is ground-based test equipment intended to support thermal-vacuum qualification and verification of equipment and components for space environments. It provides controlled high-vacuum and programmable thermal conditions for defined test profiles.

System safeguards include automatic emergency protection, hardware and software temperature limits, overtemperature and undertemperature protection, emergency sensors or thermostats, monitoring of refrigeration or cryogenic subsystem parameters, vacuum-system interlocks, operating-state monitoring, and emergency algorithms. Sensor calibration can be accessed through the controller.

The technical description does not state compliance with a specific test or product standard. Applicable project standards, acceptance criteria, calibration scope, test procedures, and documentation should therefore be agreed for each configuration.