Thermal Control of Tribolab, a materials experiment in the International Space Station

Abstract

Tribolab is a materials tribology experiment that was flown on the International Space Station (ISS) from February 2008 to September 2009. The main objective of the experiment was the study of the behaviour of new solid lubricants (alloyed MoS2 with WC) under real space conditions. The thermal control of the instrument (techniques needed to ensure that the temperature range of the experiment components are adequate in all the mission possible scenarios) was designed, assembled, integrated and tested by a team of engineers of Inasmet-Tecnalia and INTA. The design concept employed, mainly passive thermal control with some active components, is explained in detail. The computational models devised for the design, as well as the different mission scenarios are also explained. The verification and on earth qualification tests are described and the difficulties encountered during the project for the thermal subsystem are also explained. Finally, the real thermal behaviour of the experiment when on space is described, with some post-flight information.