The Fall/Winter 08 issue of the Kennedy Tech Transfer news featured the NASA Kennedy Cryogenics Test Laboratory, headed by James Fesmire, a CSA Technical Director.
The lab, founded in 1997, focuses on four technology areas: thermal insulation systems; cryogenic components, including pumps, valves and new sensor technology; propellant process systems, such as rocket-loading systems, and low-temperature applications. There are 20 people in the lab, plus guest researchers and new engineers they train in cryogenics and vacuum.
Not only has the lab solved several thorny problems for the Space Shuttle, but it also collaborates with companies and institutions worldwide. Fesmire said, “We do long-term research with practical applications. {We} take a look at the total system and think how to achieve the most energy-efficient and cost-effective products. We come up with new methods of cryogenic testing and have patented a whole family of insulation test instruments—cryostats. We’ve helped develop aerogel and polyimide composites, and we have patents pending on them as well as on foam, plastic and multilayer insulation materials.
“We have experience with novel designs for valves, pumps, heat exchangers and sensor applications. We also take things that have been developed for moderate temperatures and work with industry to redevelop them to work for cryogenics.”
Fesmire’s invention, Cryostat-1, a 1-meter-tall test instrument that uses different vacuum levels and liquid nitrogen evaporation to measure heat energy, has morphed into several improved models in different configurations for all types of materials, with four patents. “Our cryostats give precise thermal performance measurements in a simple, economical way. They can measure a very wide range of heat leak rates, down to milliwatts, and in environments ranging from high vacuum to ambient pressure,” Fesmire added.
Follow this link to watch a video about the Cryogenics Test Laboratory: http://www.mediamarketingconsultants.com/NASA/Cryo.wmv (Video courtesy of NASA)
Also, look for a feature story in an upcoming issue of Cold Facts about glass bubbles currently being tested as new insulation material for cryogenic storage tanks. The project is being carried out through a partnership between Kennedy Space Center (KSC), 3M and Technology Applications, Inc.
