Electronic Component Testing of Satellites at High Altitudes

Electronic Components of Satellites behave differently in outer space as compared to how these behave at sea level. How do you know that your satellite will survive outer space? How do you confirm that your circuit boards will function properly at higher altitudes? There is only one way to find out, and that is to test and validate your design.

Electronic components are part of every satellite. Even Sputnik, the first satellite in space, had electronic components, such a transponder, etc... Electrical circuits create heat during operation this happens because electrons travel through electrical conductors which create friction which in turn create heat. The heat created by any electrical circuit quickly dissipates through convection. Convection is the heat transfer due to bulk movement of molecules such as liquids or gasses.

We take convective cooling for granted here on earth. However, convection is almost non-existent at higher altitudes. As the altitude increases, the air pressure decreases. Air pressure decreases because less air molecules are present. Less air molecules means less heat can escape through convection. Hence other cooling system and methods have to be developed and tested in order to keep the electronics running. Many electronic components on a satellite will only properly function if they are maintained within a specified temperature range.

We were exited to have been contacted by one of the developers of Cube Sat asking for our help on testing their Satellite components. What you are looking at is a clear acrylic vacuum chamber, 14 inch inside dimensions, hinged side door, front loading. This chamber can be placed on a table top and accessed by opening the front door.

However, this vacuum chamber is different from our standard built vacuum chambers. This chamber has the vacuum valve, the venting valve, the vacuum gauge moved to the top wall. Conversely, a Two-Pair, Type J, Thermocouple Vacuum Feedthrough is placed on top left corner of the side wall. An 12 wire, 18 Gauge Vacuum Feedthrough has been placed on the top right corner of the side wall. A Multipin, 25 pin is present on the lower left corner. Finally, an NW40 Port is located on the lower right corner. This NW40 port is used to connect a high vacuum pump that will generate a vacuum high enough in order to simulate the absolute pressures of Low Earth Orbit.

While the chamber is under Vacuum, Cube Sats will be placed inside for testing. Electrical connections are run from the outside and connected to the CubeSat inside. This is possible because these Electrical Vacuum Feedthroughs are specially built components what allow the user to connect to the CubeSat from the outside without compromising the vacuum.

If you have a need for a custom vacuum chamber with Vacuum Feedthroughs, feel free to Contact Us anytime.

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Vacuum Decay Leak Testing Systems
Vacuum Decay Leak Testing Systems are Instruments that detect and quantify a leak by measuring the drop in vacuum (pressure) inside the specimen. During a vacuum decay leak test, the specimen is placed into a vacuum chamber, the vacuum is pulled to a specified setpoint, and the drop in vacuum is monitored and recorded over time. If a leak in the specimen exists, the air will travel from a higher pressure (inside the specimen) to a lower pressure (vacuum chamber). As a results of the additional air, the vacuum levels will drop whereas a leak can be detected and quantified.
Power Vacuum Feedthroughs
Power vacuum feedthroughs are hermetically sealed off the shelf components used to transfer electrical power from the outside of the vacuum chamber into the inside of the vacuum chamber without compromising the vacuum. One example application would be powering an electronic device inside the vacuum chamber
Our Work: Vacuum Testing of Lithium Ion Batteries, Thin Film, Fuel Cells, Supercapacitors, and Nano materials
This vacuum chamber is a modification to our basic acrylic vacuum chamber 12 inch, removable lid model; except that our customer requested additional ports and electrical feed-through for testing of electrical equipment under vacuum. You know, I wish we would have asked them for more details on what they were doing with this chamber; their short and concise answer was that they were using our chamber to perform scientific work on the subjects of: lithium ion batteries, thin films, fuel cells, super-capacitors, and nano-materials testing in a vacuum environment.
Related Articles: Force Decay Leak Testing
Force Decay Leak Testing is a very popular quantitative leak testing method used to quality test package and product integrity due to its ability to detect small leaks which cannot be seen through visual inspection. In this method, the test specimen is internally inflated by either internal pressurization or vacuum force. The inflated test specimen will, in turn, apply a force on a pressure transducer. Finally, the change in force applied by the inflated specimen over a specified time is observed.