METHOD FOR OUTGASSING STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS OF SPACECRAFT IN GROUND CONDITIONS Russian patent published in 2022 - IPC B08B5/04 B64G7/00 

FIELD: testing technology.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to the field of testing technology, in particular to testing products, for example, spacecraft for degassing under conditions close to operational, and can be used in space technology when testing spacecraft components: equipment, instruments, structural components, onboard cable network, screen-vacuum thermal insulation. The degassing of the spacecraft components is necessary in order to prevent condensation of the products of gas separation and evaporation in vacuum from them on the optical and radiation surfaces of the spacecraft in flight and thereby improve the performance of the optical and radiation surfaces of the spacecraft. The method for outgassing of structural elements of space vehicles in ground conditions consists in placing the space vehicle in a thermal vacuum chamber with cryogenic screens, evacuating it to a predetermined pressure. Next, the cryogenic screen of the thermal vacuum chamber is filled with liquid nitrogen. At the same time, a heat flux of a given temperature is created on the surface of the spacecraft. The predetermined temperature is maintained on the surface of the spacecraft and the spacecraft is kept at the predetermined temperature in the thermal vacuum chamber for a predetermined period of time. To create and maintain a given temperature on the surface of the spacecraft, a heat flux from a solar radiation simulator is used, adjusting its intensity. The onboard equipment of the spacecraft is turned on, while maintaining a predetermined pressure in the thermal vacuum chamber at a level below the pressure of the occurrence of an electric discharge in vacuum at the maximum power supply voltage of the switched onboard equipment of the spacecraft. The pressure in the thermal vacuum chamber is measured with a given frequency, upon reaching a stable value of which the value of the steady-state total flow of leakage and gas separation in the thermal vacuum chamber is measured. After that, the evacuation of the thermal vacuum chamber and the exposure of the spacecraft in it are stopped.

EFFECT: invention provides an increase in the service life of the equipment, which incorporates optical and radiation surfaces and obtaining a quantitative estimate of degassing.

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