Thermal Vacuum Chamber for Fermilab Cubesat initiative

• Eloise De Castelnau
• David Laczak
• Jose Luis Salinas
• Alexander Bulger
• Christopher James

Fermilab is developing low Earth orbit miniature satellites known as CubeSats, to further investigate the presence of dark matter in and out of the galactic plane. To meet launch provider requirements and ensure mission success, Fermilab requires development of comprehensive testing equipment for the CubeSats. This project encompasses the design and implementation of a Thermal Vacuum Chamber (TVC) that is capable of reproducing low Earth orbit, by meeting 100 C and -100 C and maintaining a convection limiting vacuum of 10-5 torr. The team developed custom heating and cooling solutions and were able to recycle components from previous experiments to achieve the design goal. SolidWorks was used to develop, validate, and modify components and to create machining drawings. ANSYS was used to thermally and structurally analyze the system and to make sure it meets Fermilab’s strict safety code. A repurposed cryocooler, copper can shroud (courtesy of Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (SuperCDMS )), heating pad, and custom modular CubeSat suspension system were created within the vacuum vessel, which was donated by the Dark Energy Camera (DECAM ) project. The final assembly of the TVC produced complete tests, with full range cycling more than satisfying the heating, cooling, and vacuum requirements while adhering to the lab’s safety regulations. The TVC will be used to certify CubeSats and aid in the development of the CubeSat program for years to come.