• 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 T Series comprises six configurable models: T64, T125, T250, T500, T1000, and T2000, with nominal usable volumes from 64 to 2,000 L.

CHAMBER ARCHITECTURE

The vacuum-tight rectangular chamber is made of stainless steel and has polished AISI 304 internal surfaces to minimize outgassing. A manually locked front door provides access to the test volume. The standard aluminium thermal plate includes threaded mounting holes for the test article. Copper or stainless-steel plates are available on request. ISO-K, CF, or KF vacuum and diagnostic connections can be configured for pumps, sensors, thermocouples, and other interfaces.

THERMAL CONTROL

Available thermal concepts include direct LN₂ injection with surface-mounted heaters, closed-circuit GN₂ circulation conditioned through an LN₂ heat exchanger, mechanical refrigeration, and a flooded LN₂ heat exchanger. Across the available configurations, thermal plate capability extends down to approximately -190 °C and up to +150 °C. The stated heating and cooling rates are ≥1 K/min, with temperature uniformity of ±2 K. Pt100 sensors are used for temperature measurement. Optional cryogenic shrouds and infrared heaters support controlled radiative thermal conditions.

VACUUM SYSTEM

The modular vacuum system combines backing and high-vacuum stages, vacuum valves, pressure instrumentation, interlocks, operating-state monitoring, and protection functions. Depending on the application, the pumping system can use dry scroll, screw, or rotary-vane backing pumps, an optional Roots booster, and a turbomolecular high-vacuum stage. Cryogenic elements, traps, filters, and additional gauges can be added as required. The stated 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, process-value and system-status displays, delayed start, and an archived event log. Data can be stored on USB and exported in CSV, TXT, or XLS format. PC control and integration are supported through Ethernet, Modbus TCP, and OPC UA.

PROTECTION FUNCTIONS

The system includes hardware and software temperature limits, overtemperature and undertemperature protection, emergency sensors or thermostats, monitoring of refrigeration or cryogenic subsystem parameters, and vacuum-system interlocks and emergency algorithms.

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 T Series is built around a vacuum-tight rectangular 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, pump-out system, and pneumatic valves are mounted on a common metal frame, while the selected refrigeration or nitrogen cooling subsystem forms part of a modular system architecture.

Process ports, pumping hardware, pressure instrumentation, thermal-control equipment, and control interfaces are configured for the application. Deepvac maintains design and development capability for customer-specific configurations. Final component selection, interfaces, documentation, and acceptance criteria are defined for each configured system.

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

System safeguards include 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 control interface.

Applicable project standards, acceptance criteria, calibration scope, test procedures, and documentation are agreed with Deepvac for each configuration.